Elle Lawliet
by DarkAlliGator
Summary: L has a daughter. She wants to find out who Kira is. Oh, and who her father is too.
1. Family?

L paced up and down the room impatiently, pausing by the table to cram a fairy cake into his mouth. Much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was... confused. For almost the first time in his life, he had no idea what was going on and why. And he didn't like it. When Watari had informed him that Evie wanted to meet him, he had given nothing away. L didn't know whether it was good news, bad news, or even just a social visit. Although he doubted it was the latter. Evie knew how dangerous it was to have a relationship with him. For both of them. They both knew that they should only contact eachother in extreme situations. No matter how much it might hurt them emotionally. L realised that his eyes were threatening to begin watering, so he shook his head hastily to clear his thoughts. He wished that he had been born a normal person who could go out and have normal relationships. But unfortunately, it hadn't happened like that. It was too dangerous. If anyone discovered that the legendary detective L had romantic relationships, there would be plenty of people who would use that to their advantage. It would be dangerous for both of them. He walked over to the window and stared out at the night time sky, thinking hard.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. He swallowed. This must be her.

"Come in..." The door opened and Evie walked in. She hadn't changed much from the last time he saw her. The only differences were that her ginger hair was now much longer and she had got a bit taller. Her pale blue eyes were worried, and she was carrying something in the crook of her arm. She looked at him.

"Hi." She said. "I thought you might want to know something." L was instantly curious.

"What? What are you carrying?" To his surprise, she walked over to him and handed him... _a baby?_ He blinked.

"What?" The baby stared at him unblinkingly. He stared back, also unblinkingly. He knew it was stupid, but he wasn't going to let a baby beat him in a staring competition. But why did Evie have a baby anyway? Slowly, his thumb crept to his mouth. The baby mirrored him, and realisation hit him like a bus. He would have dropped the baby if Evie hadn't stepped forwards and gently removed it from him. He sat down in shock.

"What... is it mine?" Evie nodded, and scowled.

"She," she corrected. "And she's not just yours, she's ours." L nodded dumbly.

There was a long silence, in which L ate most of the food on the table. Eventually, he felt he had to say something.

"Has she got a name yet?" Evie shook her head.

"Well, that's part of the reason I'm here." She grinned. "Apart from the fact I thought you'd want to know, I thought it would be best if we agreed on the name together." L smiled faintly. He still couldn't believe that he was a father.

"Any ideas?" He asked.

"Well, I was thinking Elle..." L stared at her.

"What? No! That's _my _name!"

"E-L-L-E, not L. One letter names are just silly!" she joked.

"Hey!" L said, pretending to be cross. He shrugged. "Well, I guess it's OK. I mean, I can't think of any better names." He walked over and took the newly christened Elle out of Evie's arms, looking at her. "So, Elle it is. Hello Elle." The baby stared at him and he felt suddenly awkward. He hated to put an end to this happy moment, but it had to be said at some point.

"You do know... that I can't look after her? I can't let anyone know I have... family." The word felt odd in his mouth. _Family._ Evie looked sad but not surprised.

"I know. I understand." She paused, then took Elle back. "But will you ever be able to meet her, ever?" L thought about it and sighed, suddenly depressed.

"Probably not." Evie nodded.

"I thought not. Well, hopefully I'll see you another time. Goodbye L..." She walked quietly out of the room, almost in tears.

"Goodbye," L called softly, also close to tears. He had no idea how much seeing Evie again would hurt. And his daughter...

The daughter he would never know.


	2. School

Elle

I sigh as I receive my school photograph. It's terrible! As always, my spiky black hair was a complete mess. I had been about to blink as the photo had been taken, so my eyes were half closed and I look completely dopey. And to top it all off, I had attempted a lovely smile which really hadn't worked. It had come out as an evil looking smirk that looked like I was planning to murder the photographer. Which I was at the time, but that's not the point. I make a mental note to burn the photo as soon as I get home. Groans erupt around the classroom as other people receive their photos. I laugh. Glad I'm not the only one with a stupid photo! It's quite funny really. At least, it's funny until my best (and only) friend Sayu Yagami snatches my photo away from me.

"Let's see yours!" I lunge forwards.

"No! Sayu! Give it back..." She can't see that photo! But it's too late. She shrieks with laughter.

"You look really funny!" I ignore her, and locate her photograph, stealthily reaching for it. By the time she notices, it's too late. I've already seen it. It's even worse than mine, if that's possible!

"Yours is worse than mine!" She goes bright red.

"I know. Let's give them back now, shall we?" We exchange the photos and hurriedly hide them in our bags.

Our first lesson is geography. I listen for about the first five minutes, then realise that I know all this anyway so content myself with staring out of the window. After about ten minutes, the teacher notices I'm not paying attention.

"Elle! Are you listening?"

"Yep." I reply.

"Well in that case, what did I just say?" Well, you wouldn't have to be listening to be able to figure _that _out. You _have_ just scribbled it all over the board, after all.

"You were talking about how waterfalls were formed."

"Alright. Sorry, I guess you _were _listening after all." He continues teaching as if nothing had happened, and I once again drift off into my own thoughts. Mmm, I'm hungry. I pick a sweet out of the packet that I've concealed in my pencil case. Yeah, I know, sneaky! I slip it into my mouth when the teacher turns his back, and finish it in less than a second. Yum. I nudge Sayu.

"D'you want one?" I whisper.

"No thanks," she whispers. I shrug and take another one for myself.

"Elle! Are you eating?" Whoops. Looks like the teacher's turned round.

"Yeah, sorry." I shove the packet of sweets into my bag, _accidentally _spilling a few into my pencil case. I can eat them later when I'm sure he's not watching.

"Why were you _eating _in class? That's what lunch times are for!" I shrug.

"Sorry. I'm really hungry, and anyway, they help me to concentrate." Sayu giggles and the teacher frowns at both of us. But mostly me.

"Can you see me after the lesson, please?"

"OK," I sigh. Wow, fun.

I walk over to Sayu, who had been waiting for me while I was being ranted at.

"What did he say?" She asks eagerly. I groan.

"Not much, really. Pay attention in class. Don't eat sweets. Stand up straight. Detention tomorrow. He _said _that the rules are "for our own benefit", but sweets really _do _help me concentrate so he's obviously wrong!" Sayu laughs.

"You didn't actually say that to him, did you?"

"No. But I thought about it."

"I'd love to see his face if you actually did that!" I smile. That would be quite funny.

"Tell you what, next time he tells me off I'll say that to him and take a photo." Sayu giggles.

"You'd get WAY told off for that! He'd probably give you detention for the rest of the year!"

"It's still funny to think about, though! Maybe we can do it more stealthily than that. Maybe you could hide somewhere and zoom in on his face when I say it." We look at eachother and both burst out laughing.

"We have GOT to do that sometime!" Sayu laughs.

I say goodbye to Sayu and begin the walk to the bus station. I sigh. Mum probably won't be pleased that I managed to get myself a detention. But I don't _have _to tell her anyway. Or even if I do, I don't have to tell her everything. Like, leave out the part with me eating and say that I got falsely accused. Yeah, something like that.


	3. L

Elle

I open the front door of my house and enter. I poke my head cautiously into the living room. Mum's there, watching the TV. She doesn't notice me. Good. I sneak into the kitchen, open the fridge and grab the chocolate cake that she made yesterday. I know, I eat too much, but who actually cares anyway? However, before I even take one mouthful, a loud shout makes me jump guiltily and I put the cake down on the worktop hastily.

"ELLE?" What's mum shouting about? She never usually shouts, and I thought she hadn't even realised I was home yet. Besides, if it was about the cake, how did she even know I was about to eat it? Has she got sensors attached to it or something? But she sounded more surprised than anything. I guess it's not about the cake then. She definitely would have expected me to go straight for it as soon as I got home. I turn around, but she's not standing in the doorway to the kitchen as I had expected. She's still in the living room watching the TV. I creep up, mystified and watch her.

"Oh, you _idiot_. You're gonna get yourself killed." Is she talking to me? I hope she's not referring to my eating habits. I mean, I'm not exactly the healthiest eater in history, but it's not gonna kill me. At least, not yet. But, no, it looks as if she still hasn't noticed me. All of her attention is focused on the TV. Maybe she's watching some horror film and some character called Elle has done something really stupid and is about to die. You can always tell who's going to die in horror films. I look at the TV, expecting some gruesome gore, but I'm disappointed. The background is plain white, with a gothic looking letter "L" on it. OK, I take that back about being disappointed. This is getting interesting.

"God, Elle. You're meant to be a genius, but sometimes you do _really _stupid things." Hmm. Elle...or L? Is L even a person, or what? I listen to the TV.

"And Kira, what you are doing is evil." The voice seems to have been put through a voice scrambler. "I will stop you at any cost. If you are watching this Kira, remember one thing. I will win. I will not allow you to continue killing these people. You may think it is the right thing to do, but it is evil. You are evil." The L disappears and the TV screen changes to the news.

Wow, what was all that about then? It seems like there's some kind of battle between "L" and "Kira", whoever they are. And, strangely, it seems like mum knows L. I would say that "Kira" is probably a murderer, since "L" mentioned him killing people. So that would make L the mysterious detective. Mum works with the police, so maybe she _does _know L. She probably doesn't know Kira though (or at least she doesn't know who he is), or he'd be under arrest by now! I wonder if there's any way I can ask mum about them without letting her know I've seen all that. To start off with, I walk to the front door, open it, and slam it shut.

"Hi!" I call.

"Hi Elle," says mum. She walks out of the living room and smiles.

"Are you OK?" I ask. She looks terrible. She's gone all pale.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"Do you want some coffee?" I ask.

"That would be great, thanks!" I walk into the kitchen and put the kettle on. While I wait for it to boil, I think about ways to ask without seeming suspicious. It's only as I'm spooning the 24th spoonful of sugar into my coffee that an idea hits me. I pick up our coffees and take them into the living room, handing mum her coffee.

"Thanks, Elle."

At least, I _thought _it was her coffee.

I take a sip of my coffee and choke. It's so... unsweet! At the same time, mum starts coughing. She hates sweet things.

"Ugh... how much sugar did you put in this thing? That's disgusting!"

"I think," I choke, "We've got the wrong coffee." We exchange mugs and I take a sip of my deliciously sweet coffee, washing away the taste of mum's.

"How do you _drink _your coffee like that?" I ask, all thoughts of L and Kira temporarily banished from my head.

"I could ask you the same thing!" She laughs.


	4. Kira VS L

Elle

The next day at school, literally _everyone _was talking about L vs. Kira. As I'd thought, L is a detective. Apparently he's the best detective in the world, and never shows his face to anyone or lets them find out his real name. Kira is a murderer who's killed hundreds of people _already! _At first I thought it was just playground exaggeration, but when I asked a teacher they said it was true. Anyway, apparently he kills with heart attacks (how on Earth can he do that?), and can kill from any distance but he needs to know somebody's name to kill them. And he only kills criminals. L is responsible for catching Kira, but not everyone is sure that Kira should be caught. Some people think he's doing the world a favour by getting rid of all the criminals. We had a debate about whether we thought Kira was right or wrong. So, anyway, I guess I won't have to ask mum about L and Kira after all. But there's definitely something going on. I bet she knows L. I'll have to do some snooping around the house. I mean, I know it's none of my business but it would be so interesting to find out who L is. There's probably only a handful of people in the world who know who he is, or have met him. It would be great to be one of those people.

"Elle?"

"Ymph?" Whoops. I remove my thumb from my mouth and try again.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come round my house tomorrow?" Sayu asks. I grin.

"Yes please! I'd love to! I'll have to ask mum, but it should be alright." This could turn out to be interesting. Apparently Sayu's brother Light is a bit of a genius, and he's interested in the Kira case. And to be honest, I'm interested too. Sayu had been joking all day, asking if I was L, but it's also got me wondering. How can somebody kill so many others? Even if they _are _evil. That's just hypocritical, killing killers. Anyway, it's not right for one person to decide who's "good" enough to live. So, I might want to see if _I _can find out anything.

I went to open the front door, then paused as an idea hit me again. L might be on the TV again, and maybe mum's watching? So instead of throwing the door open like I usually do, I open and shut it as quietly as I can and poke my head sneakily into the living room. Mum's not there and the TV is off. Oh well. May as well check to see if L's on it again. I flick through the channels, but all that's on is some random cartoons and the news. I decide to watch the news.

"...and the Kira killings continue. The death toll is now well over 500, and the detective L seems to have made no progress since yesterday's confrontation. There have also been several people writing in to us to express their opinions on Kira. We will read out some of these letters now." Mum enters the room.

"Hi, Elle!"

"Hi!" I say, keeping my eyes glued to the TV. But mum persists in talking to me, so I don't hear anything.

"Mum! I'm trying to watch..." I say. She turns to the TV.

"And now, a replay of yesterday's events." A dark haired man with a plaque saying "Lind L Taylor" on it appears on the screen.

"You're watching this? Why?" I blink. O... K, why _shouldn't _I be watching this?

"Well, why not? It's interesting. I want to find out more about Kira and L."

"You mean you actually know about them?" She asks. I laugh.

"Of course! Everyone was talking about it at school."

"You're probably gonna get bored after a couple of days of it. Trust me."


	5. Apples!

Light

"Liiiight?" I sigh. Looks like Ryuk's in an annoying mood. Again.

"Yes?"

"I want apples." I groan.

"Ryuk, you always want apples. Listen, I'm going to go down and have my tea. I'll bring you back up an apple after tea, alright?" Ryuk nodded.

"Make sure it's a nice juicy one!" As I leave the room, I make sure to shut the door and lock it. Apparently Sayu's got a friend round (which explains why she hasn't been bothering me yet) and I really, _really _could do without her seeing the death note. Not that I think that will happen, but it never hurts to be too careful. I scowl as I remember that confrontation with L the other day. He had tricked me. How on earth did I let that happen? No matter. It was only a matter of time. And I'm not going to make a mistake like that again, because if I do I'll get caught. But there's no way that's going to happen. Ryuk laughs as if he knows what I'm thinking. I smile. Ryuk laughs a lot anyway. I think he's just trying to creep me out by pretending he knows something I don't. Well, sorry Ryuk, but it's not working.

I sit down at the dinner table and look at Sayu's guest. Dark spiky hair, dark eyes. I to sit next to her, since it's the only space.

"Hi Light!" giggles Sayu. "This is L!"

"Huh?" I say, stupidly, panicking before realising how stupid I'd just been. Elle, not L! Idiot. Come on, you're supposed to be intelligent. I'm so paranoid right now. I need to calm down a bit.

"Hey, Elle!" I say. "I'm Light." She smiles.

"Hi." Sayu giggled.

"You thought she was L the detective didn't you? I saw your face!" Oh well, guess I'll have to admit it now.

"Yeah... you got me for a second there. I was all ready to offer my help with the Kira case!" I joke. Elle laughs.

"Well, I'm thinking of looking into it." I can't actually tell whether she's joking. "So, _you're _interested in Kira too then?" I nod, wondering what I've just got myself into.

"Yeah. I'm going to be in the police when I'm old enough."

"He's already helped solve a few cases for them!" Sayu yells proudly. Mum tells her not to shout at the table.

"Sorry," she mutters resentfully. We spend the rest of the meal discussing Kira. Wow, I'm so famous already.

At the end of the meal I stand up.

"I'm going to go study. Sayu, stay out of my room..." she scowls at me.

"I've got a friend! I don't need to go into your room!"

"Just making sure!" I call as I go up the stairs. I'm going to lock my door anyway, so it's irrelevant really.

"LIGHT!" I look at Ryuk.

"Yes?" I mutter.

"You forgot to get me an APPLE! You'd better get me one now or I'll go drop the death note on someone and they'll be able to see me!" I groan. I doubt he'd actually do it, but I still don't want him complaining in my ear.

"Alright," I mutter and fetch an apple from the fruit basket. Once I'm safely in my room I give it to Ryuk.

"Happy?" He swallows it whole."

"Well, it wasn't very juicy. And it was tiny!" I sigh.

"Well, that's all you're getting for now."


	6. Light's Invisible Friend

Elle

Sayu and I leave the table to go to her room, chatting all the way up the stairs.

"So, what do you think about Kira, Elle?" I think for a second.

"I'm on L's side. I mean, he's still a murderer no matter who he's killing. And besides, nobody asked him to kill all the criminals. He must think he's some kind of God or something. Still," I add. "I'd love to know how he kills. I mean, heart attacks? How are you supposed to give somebody a heart attack?" Sayu nods, and giggles.

"Maybe he's really ugly, and when his victims see his face they have a heart attack from fright!" I laugh. It's a funny idea.

"But he doesn't have to be there to kill them..."

"Well maybe he sends them pictures of himself on their phones..." we look at eachother and burst out laughing.

Light

Those two are _laughing _at me! I can hear them discussing how Kira must be really ugly, and the worst thing is I can't even do anything about it! And to make it worse, Ryuk is laughing at me too.

"Oh, Light! Is that how you kill? You make them take a look at your face and they die of fright?" I glare at him.

"Ryuk. Quit being so immature."

"Are you sure you even _need _that death note? I'm sure you could do just as well without it, judging by what they're saying..."

"Ryuk. Shut up."

"But you could at least try..."

"RYUK! I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP I WILL NEVER GIVE YOU AN APPLE AGAIN!" I yell, temper snapping. Ryuk just grins.

"Are you sure you ought to be shouting at me? Remember, I can kill you any time I want. And besides, those two can still hear you." I freeze. Oops.

Elle

"Is that your brother shouting?" I ask. Sayu listens.

"Yeah, it sounds like it. I'm just gonna go check he's alright." She walks out of the room, and I follow. She knocks on his door.

"Light? Are you OK in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sayu. Why?" Comes his voice from under the door.

"I thought I heard shouting..."

"Oh, that was just my TV. I accidentally turned the volume up really high." Sayu shrugs.

"Well, OK then. As long as you haven't died or anything..." we go back into her room. I grin. Light is funny.

"Wanna play cards?" Sayu asks. I nod.

"Yeah, sure." We played for a while, me whooping every time I won and growling silently to myself every time I lost. Yeah, I know. I'm a really bad loser.

"Sayu?" I say. "I need the loo...?"

"Oh, OK! It's the second door on the landing. Don't go into the first, that's Light's room!" She giggles. "I don't think he'd appreciate being disturbed!" I head for the bathroom. As I pass Light's door, I hear voices and stop. One of them sounds like Light. I know it's probably his TV, like I said, but it really does sound like Light. And anyway, it sounds like he's having a conversation with somebody, but he's the only one talking. Maybe he's on the phone. Nosy as I am, I can't help listening.

"Seriously, Ryuk. I will go and get you an apple if you just shut up. Alright?" Silence.

"OK, OK. I'll make sure it's a big one." Uh oh. He's coming out. I walk speedily to the bathroom, wondering who Ryuk is. Sure, it's none of my business, but why would Light go out and get an apple to bring upstairs if it was for this Ryuk guy who he was talking to on the phone? Strange. I grin. Maybe Light's got an invisible friend?


	7. Insomniac Discovery

Elle

I turn over in my bed, eyes tight shut, _trying _to get to sleep. Trying, but failing miserably. Why can I NEVER get to sleep? It's so frustrating! My stomach growls and I groan. Great, so now I'm hungry as well. I get out of bed and go check the time. 4:00AM. That's a _ridiculous _time to be hungry! Mum's probably asleep, so I guess I can go downstairs and get something to eat. I open the door as quietly as I can, and sneak downstairs into the kitchen. As I go past the mirror, I catch sight of my reflection and examine the dark circles under my eyes. Guess they're not going to go away any time soon. Apparently my dad had insomnia too... but that's the only thing I know about him really. Whenever I try to ask mum about him she dries up on me. It's really annoying.

I remove a pack of Mikado sticks from the cupboard, and carefully remove one. I dip it in the honey, and then roll it in the sugar bowl before putting it in my mouth, savouring the taste. Yum. I don't understand how mum can possibly not like sweet things!

A quiet noise makes me jump, and I turn around. I suddenly realise how quiet it is, and suddenly feel like an intruder in my own house. It's stupid, I know. But then I hear the noise again. It sounds like somebody coming down the stairs. I panic, thinking about what it could be. It's either mum, or a burglar. Mum probably wouldn't be too pleased to see me down here, and if it's a burglar (which I don't think it is) I don't particularly want them to see me. So, I squeeze myself into a cupboard, hugging my knees close to my body. I leave the door open a crack, however, so I can see who it is. The kitchen door opens. It's mum. I'm so paranoid! But anyway, what's she doing down here at this time? I've never known her to want little midnight snacks before! Well, I guess I've got to stay here now until she's gone. I mean, I don't fancy explaining to her why I'm in a cupboard. But, to my horror, she begins to walk right towards me! Uh oh... I hope she hasn't seen me! She reaches out her hand, and I cringe into a little ball. Guess I've been caught. But then, she picks up the phone and I breathe a silent sigh of relief. Who's she planning to phone at 4:00 in the morning? She types in a number. It seems to be shorter than regular phone numbers for some reason, or maybe I'm just imagining it. The house is so silent, I can hear the phone ringing on the other end. I hold my breath, not wanting to miss a word of this phone conversation.

The phone on the other end stops ringing.

"Watari?" Mum whispers. "This is E." Who's Watari, and why can't she phone him in the daytime like any normal person? And since when has she been "E"? I listen carefully to catch Watari's reaction.

"Well, then. You know what I'm going to ask... can you prove it?" Now, I'm glad I couldn't sleep.

"Yes," mum replies. "I'm the only one apart from you and L," my head snaps up. Elle or L? "Who knows about L." Well, that didn't make any sense. Unless you look at it a different way. There are four possibilities.

"I am the only one apart from you and L who knows about L." Well, that just doesn't make sense, and neither does "I am the only one apart from you and Elle who knows about Elle." So that's eliminated two possibilities. "I am the only one apart from you and Elle who knows about L." That makes a little more sense, but it's not true. Everybody knows about L, but even if she's talking about knowing who, as a person, L is, that's not true.

So, it must be "I am the only one apart from you and L who knows about Elle." But that one doesn't make any sense either. It makes more sense than the others, I suppose. But everyone knows about me. I'm just a quiet, hardworking schoolgirl. However, this answer seems to satisfy Watari, no matter how confused it made me.

"It's been a long time, E. Why are you calling me now? Do you need to meet with L?" Why would mum need to meet with L?

"If possible." Watari hesitated.

"Is it urgent?" Mum exploded very quietly then.

"Yes, it is urgent and I wish I didn't have to go through this stupid system every time I need to see the father of my only child!" she hisses down the phone. I gasp, but luckily she doesn't seem to hear. She's talking about my dad. She wants to meet L. So that means that...

L is...


	8. So Now What?

Elle

L's my father? I don't know what I was expecting when I saw mum pick up that phone, but it definitely wasn't this...

The mysterious detective on the Kira case is my father.

...

Wow. This is... amazing. It all makes sense now; this explains why mum always dried up on me and never told me anything about my dad. I'd always assumed he'd died or run off and left her, but it seems I'm wrong. He just couldn't have any contact with us in case somebody found out. I wonder what he's like. Is he like me at all? I guess he probably likes sweet food, since mum doesn't and if he doesn't I have no idea why I love it so much. And... he's probably got black hair and eyes, because I have, and once again, mum hasn't. But that's all I can really work out. I strain my ears to hear the rest of the conversation.

"I know, E. I'm sorry. It must be horrible for you, but it has to be done. It's better than one of you being killed. Anyway, I will meet you at location Z at the usual time tomorrow to confirm." Mum sighs.

"Yeah, sorry. I just get so frustrated. I wish it could be different."

"I think we all do, E." Watari says sadly, and hangs up. Mum puts the phone down slowly and stands there for a minute. She looks so sad.

When I'm sure mum is back in her room, I quietly remove myself from the cupboard and begin to creep upstairs. Then I stop. I know mum is a light sleeper, so even if she is asleep now (which I doubt) I'll probably wake her up. So I walk back downstairs and pour myself a glass of water. I wait 15 minutes before going back up, then creep up the stairs. As I open my door mum comes out of her room. She looks furious, which is unusual. She knows I get up in the middle of the night all the time. She's probably paranoid that I heard the conversation with Watari.

"What were you doing down there?"

I hold up my glass of water and mumble sleepily "Couldn't sleep, needed a drink..." I rub my eyes, giving all the appearance of someone who has only just got out of bed. She looks at me suspiciously.

"When did you go down? I didn't hear you."

"Coupl'a minutes ago." I look at her. "You OK?" She blinks at me.

"I'm fine, why?"

"No reason," I mutter. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" I fake a huge yawn. Come on, let me go back to bed already... She shakes her head.

"No, I was already awake. You just go back to bed, alright?" I nod and make my way into my room.

Once I'm safely inside, I sit down on the bed. I know now that there's no way I'll ever get to sleep tonight. I begin to wonder about L. Would I recognise him if I saw him? I wonder what he looks like and what he acts like. Now that I think about it, he's probably just like me. I look very different to mum, and I act very differently too. I grin. It would be funny if he was nothing like me. But still. Now that I've found out who my dad is after all this time, I want to do something about it. Like... actually meet him. So, I guess that's what I'll do next then. Plan how best to meet him... preferably without mum finding out. But if she does, whatever. I'll meet him anyway, no matter what.


	9. Tricked!

Evie

I walk slowly into the cafe, look around me quickly and head straight to the back table. This is location Z, and Watari should be here soon. I check my watch. 12:32. The usual time is 12:35, so I've got a couple of minutes to wait. I buy a coffee, and sit there drinking it, thinking about why I'm here. I need to see L. I've worked that much out, but I'm still not entirely sure about why. I know that whatever I say I'm not going to be able to convince him to leave this case. He's stubborn like that. To be honest, I think the reason I overreacted that much was that I want to see him again. And now that I think about it, I don't even need to try and talk him out of taking the case. I could offer to help. I look up as somebody approaches the table. It's Watari, as I'd expected. He sits down.

"Hi," I say.

"Hello Evie. Long time no see!"

"I wonder why," I mutter sarcastically. He sighs.

"I know. But look on the bright side, as far as we can see nobody knows about you and Ryuzaki." Ryuzaki? So that's the name he's going by now, huh?

"So, anyway," I say, getting straight to the point. "When can I meet him?" Watari hands me a small piece of paper, typed up in standard times new roman font. They never take any chances. Even if I lost this, it could belong to anyone. No identifying handwriting. No nothing. It's all a bit over the top, but unfortunately it needs to be. But anyway, I can't take any chances either. I memorise the details, then tear the paper into shreds which I place in my pocket, planning to scatter them later. Watari watches approvingly.

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten anything." I glare at him. I hate having to go through all this just to see L. His expression softens.

"He's looking forwards to it," he says quietly. "Obviously he tries not to show it, but he misses you."

"I miss him too," I mutter.

I get home and sit down on the sofa, twisting a lock of hair through my fingers, too agitated to sit still. Why did L have to be the best bloody detective in the world? I would love to cut out all the smoke and mirrors stuff. But really, I should be feeling sorry for Elle. She's never met him and probably never will. An idea hits me. Maybe I can try to convince L to meet with her? But what would be worse, never meeting her father or meeting him once and never again. I remember last night. For all I know, she might have heard the conversation between me and Watari and be planning to meet L herself! I wouldn't put it past her. It wouldn't be the first time she's tricked me, either. I'll have to keep an eye on her. She did seem awfully sleepy for someone who apparently couldn't get to sleep. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Either way, I'm still going to keep an eye on her. But anyway. The meeting with L is tonight. I'll have to get ready. I pull open my bag and look for my phone, meaning to leave it behind. If I don't take it out now, I'll forget. My fingers hit something hard and plastic and I frown. That's not my phone. I look at the object, and realise that I've been tricked.

"Elle...!" I'm about to call her down and demand an explanation, but change my mind and smile. I might just have a little fun with her first.


	10. Walkie Talkie Fun

Elle

After mum goes out, I rush up to my room and search under my bed frantically, pulling out a walkie talkie. I blow the dust off it, and turn it on. Static blasts out of the speakers, and even though I know I'm the only one in the house I switch it off quickly. Guilty conscience! I switch it back on. My plan? The twin of this walkie talkie is currently resting in mum's bag with the on button taped down and the sensitivity turned right up. I can hear it knocking against stuff in her bag right now. I'm going to listen to mum's conversation with Watari with this. I know it's a terrible plan, I can think of millions of reasons why it might not work, but it's really the only thing I could do at such short notice. Right now, all I can do is wait and hope that it does work. I sit there, pleading silently with the walkie talkie.

After I sat there for about 5 minutes, I begin to hear voices. Very faint and crackly. They must be nearly out of range. I turn the sound right up, but it doesn't really make much difference. I'm going to have to concentrate hard if I want to hear what they're saying. Or alternatively, I could go outside. I run into the front garden with the walkie talkie, ignoring the people who are staring at this strange girl who just ran outside with a walkie talkie.

FZZT... Evie. It's BZZZZ ZZT FZZT.

FZZZZT BZZZT ZZZZZ FZZZZZZZZ. I groan and switch it off. It's useless. I'll never work out what they're saying in a million years. The signal's just too bad. But this is just that Watari guy. It's L I'm interested in. Obviously they're just confirming when the meeting's going to be. It would be helpful if I knew, but it's not essential. I'll just have to look for when mum's acting oddly when she's about to go out. I'd say that the meeting is likely to be later on today, so if any nosy person like me finds out about it, they'll have less time to find out the details. But in my case, that's actually worked out to my advantage. Ha ha. Anyway though, I'll have to make a backup plan in case the same thing happens again. Hopefully it'll be while before mum's back, I can go and buy anything I need before she gets back. So, plan B in case plan A doesn't work...

Later on, mum announces she's going out. I watch her carefully. She looks nervous, although I could be imagining it. But she keeps twirling her hair round her finger, which I've only ever known her to do when she's nervous.

"Haven't you already been out today?" I ask innocently. It's the innocent questions that cause the adults the most trouble.

"Yeah, but that was just for lunch. I'm going to have tea with a friend."

"Can I come?" Time to test my theory out. She smiles.

"Of course you can!" Huh? What?

"Um..." I stutter. I wasn't expecting _that!_ She laughs.

"NO." Phew. I thought for a second she was being serious. I had no idea what to do just then! I laugh as if I was joking, which I was.

"Fooled you there!" Mum laughs. I scowl.

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't make jokes like that. I thought you were serious! I thought I was gonna have to spend an evening listening to you and one of your friends chattering on!" She smiles, and steps outside.

"Well anyway, I'll see you later."

"Bye!" I yell. When she's gone, I run upstairs, grinning. This is it.

Ten minutes later, I am _not _smiling.

"So how have you been, Freya?"

"Oh, fine. You? I haven't talked to you for _ages!_" This means one of two things. Either my dad is a woman called Freya or mum was telling the truth when she said she was going to see friends. I groan. I thought I'd been so damn clever...


	11. Plan B

Evie

I leave Freya's house, trying not to laugh.

"Bye, Freya!" When I'm far enough away, I open my bag and pull out the walkie talkie. I can just see Elle's face now! She'll be furious that her plan didn't work! At this thought I burst out laughing. The strange looks I get from passersby only makes me laugh more.

"Oh dear. Looks like _that _plan failed then, Elle!" I turn the device over and remove the batteries. If she was still listening, she wouldn't hear anything now, so now I can go to the real meeting.

Well, anyway, that proves it. She knows. She must have been hiding in the kitchen or something, because I didn't hear her when I was down there. But she's such a good actor, I believed her when she said she was just down there for a drink. Well, L will have to know about this for a start. An idea hits me. Elle knows who her father is now, so maybe L will be more likely to be able to meet her? Part of the reason we thought they'd never be able to meet is so that L's identity could stay secret. But now she knows anyway, so there's no point in hiding it anymore. I'll have to talk to L about it. I sigh.

"Elle, why do you have to be so _nosy?" _I mutter. But I can understand it. If I was in the same situation, I would have done exactly the same thing. Well, maybe not exactly the same thing. I would have been much sneakier about it. But I'd definitely have done something similar.

I replace the walkie talkie in my bag, minus the batteries, and continue walking. I can't even use my own car to go and see L in case somebody recognises it. I had to go out and hire one. It's stupid, but I can see why. It would just take one slip up and everything would be ruined. L's identity might be discovered, someone might try and hurt me or Elle to hurt him. Basically it would just be a huge mess. I open the hired car, and sigh. I wish things could be simpler.

Elle

Oops. Looks like I just got found out. I'd continued listening to mum's conversation with Freya just to make sure they weren't talking about me (they were!) Unbelievable. And I'd heard mum's comment. There's going to be trouble later, but I suppose she was always going to find out. I hadn't made any great effort to hide it. In fact, this might be a blessing in disguise. It's obviously bad that plan A failed, but there's always plan B. Plan A had a second use, and that was a decoy. I'd worked out that there was about a 67% chance mum would find the walkie talkie. But now that she's found that, she'll be unlikely to look for more stuff. More stuff being plan B. So all I have to do now is sit and wait and hope that mum doesn't decide to look any further into her bag.

...

_Sorry about the short chapter. The next one's much longer._


	12. Deja Vu

L

I pace around the hotel room, feeling more than a little sick.

Déjà Vu.

The last time I was in this kind of situation, it was when I found out I had a daughter. I wonder what surprise Evie will have for me this time? I think I know, actually. She's going to offer her help with the Kira case. I can't imagine Evie just sitting there. I don't know what I'm going to say to her. I push that thought out of my mind for the time being. I'll deal with that later. But I can't stop thinking about Elle recently. If Kira does actually kill me (which is unlikely, but possible) I'll have never met my own daughter. I should meet her at least once. I never knew my parents, and it drove me crazy trying to find out who they were. I failed. I don't want my daughter to go through the same thing. And, if she's anything like me and Evie, she'll probably find out eventually. I don't want her to hate me for not being with her. Maybe I should meet her, just the once...

There is a knock at the door.

"Come in," I call, and sit down on the sofa. Evie walks in. Yes, this is definitely like the night I first saw Elle.

"L?" She mutters. I get up and hug her. Well, what am I meant to do? She seems upset. I don't blame her. I feel upset too.

"Are you alright?" She doesn't react. Fair enough. But I have to do something to cheer her up...

"Would you like some chocolate?" I ask, offering her a bar. She laughs. Good. Looks like I'm better at cheering people up than I thought.

"You're rubbish at cheering people up!" What?

"What?" I ask, confused. "But you're laughing!" She grins.

"That's because you're so rubbish at cheering people up!"

"You're confusing me!" She laughs again.

"Good." Evie is about the only person in the universe who can confuse me really, really badly. I change the subject.

"I don't want to sound too businesslike, but why did you need to see me?" The smile fades from her face. I'm sorry...

"Oh yeah. You've probably guessed why I'm here anyway." I shrug.

"How about you tell me and we see if I was right?" I suggest. She grins.

"Alright then. It's about Kira. You guessed that much, didn't you?" She asks, and I smile.

"Yes. It was a 52% chance you came to offer your help with Kira, a 47% chance you came to tell me something important about Elle and a 1% chance it was something else, like a social visit."

"You make those statistics up on the spot, don't you?"

"Of course. Surely you know that 94% of all statistics are made up on the spot?" I tease. "And of course, with me it's more like 100%." Evie snorts.

"Yeah, I knew that already."

"But there's a difference between simply making up random statistics and making up vaguely accurate statistics. There's a trick to making up accurate statistics on the spot." Evie grins, like she knows what I'm about to say.

"And that would be?" She asks, knowing that that was the response I was hoping for.

"I don't know. Who said my statistics were accurate? Most of what I say is complete nonsense." She shrugs.

"Well, I understand you perfectly. Anyway, back on topic. You're right. Would you like my help in catching Kira?"

"You phrased that question well. You know that I _want _your help catching Kira. But the question is, _should _I accept your help catching Kira? This has become a personal competition between me and Kira. He's clever. Very clever. Maybe even more clever than me. I would certainly appreciate help, but..."

"Stop talking so formally. Just get to the point!" I blink, surprised. When I go into these long monologues, usually nobody interrupts.

"Having trouble understanding clever talk?" I ask, grinning.

"No!" She punches me gently on the shoulder. "You know what I mean. We both understand your formal talk, but it would be so much quicker if you just got to the point. Basically, yes or no?" I hesitate.

"But breaking things down helps me make decisions."

"Break it down in your head. I know you can."

"Are you this bossy to Elle?" I ask, teasing her and also subtly changing the subject. It works. Her eyes widen.

"Oh yeah! I need to tell you something. Elle knows you're her father." She announces. I'm not surprised.

"It was bound to happen at some point, I suppose..." I mutter. "How did she find out?" Evie winces.

"It was my fault. I phoned Watari in the middle of the night to arrange this meeting, but I didn't realise she was up. She must have been hiding in a cupboard or something!" I laugh. I remember several occasions when I've hidden in a cupboard to listen to someone's conversation and I'm pretty sure Evie's done it at some point too.

"Never mind. Like I said, it was always going to happen at some point. Is she nosy?"

"What?" Evie asks.

"Is she nosy?" I repeat. "It's hard to keep things from nosy people." Evie nods.

"She's even nosier than you, if that's possible!" Wow. She must be nosy.

"I've been thinking. It might be a good idea for me to meet her at some point. The fact that she's found out I'm her father just makes that idea stronger. If she's anything at all like I think she must be, she won't stop until she knows everything, and that means meeting me in person. So maybe it would be a good idea..."

"I was thinking that too! You really should meet her at some point. Shall I tell her we've been talking about it?" Evie asks.

"What? No, don't tell her anything about this meeting! I can contact you via Watari when I've decided. Plus, I'm curious." I admit.

"Curious?" Evie asks.

"I want to see how far she'd go to find out who I am. I promise I'll tell you if she manages to contact me. You can ask her about how she found out I'm her father, but don't mention anything we've talked about in this meeting, just leave her to her own devices. It'll be interesting, and I bet you'd like to see how far she'll go as well. If you don't tell her anything, she'll take it as a challenge. And challenging my own daughter would be fun." I've got a feeling that Elle might be listening in somehow. I bet she's at least tried something. So if she is listening in, I hope she'll get my message that I've just challenged her in the same way I've challenged Kira. Except this isn't life or death, whereas Kira is. But anyway, I want to see what my daughter is capable of. Evie laughs.

"You're so competitive. Can't you just meet her? It'd be so much easier!" But I can see she's interested to see how far Elle would go.

"It'll be like a game, and Elle will win either way. If she finds out who I am, she'll get to meet me. If she doesn't, she'll still get to meet me. I just want to see what she's capable of." Call it a test, if you will.

"Alright," Evie agrees. "I see what you're talking about." Her smile disappears. "So, have you decided yet? About me helping you?" Yes, I have.

"I think it would be good if we wait until this business with Elle is over, because there's always a possibility of her helping us as well." Evie glares at me.

"Yes, but have you forgotten that if Kira finds out who you are he'll kill you? If Elle is helping you, that goes for her too. It's the whole reason we can't meet as often as we'd like. We're _not _going to force her to help in the Kira investigation."

"I never said anything about forcing her. I bet she's thinking about looking into it anyway. If it's her choice, would you stop her?"

"No, but... alright, I'll ask her after all this is over. So, I guess that's everything then." There's a long, awkward silence.

"Can you stay here a while longer?" I ask. I don't want her to go yet. "You don't have to go just because there's nothing more to say about Kira and Elle." She smiles.

"True. I can stay." She's going to have to go eventually, but I want to postpone that moment for as long as I can. She comes and sits down next to me on the sofa. I pick up a fairy cake.

"Cake?" I offer it to her. She takes it.

"Thanks..." I pick up a cake of my own and bite into it. We sit there in silence until we've finished the cakes. I know that Evie's going to have to go soon. I don't want her to leave!

"L?" She asks. I look at her. She looks worried, and she's twisting a strand of hair around her finger which means she's nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"You better not let Kira kill you. I mean it."

"I won't." What can I say? I'll do my best, but if it happens... there's nothing I can do about it. "I'll discover Kira's identity and capture him. I promise." Evie looks at her watch. Oh no, she's got to go!

"I'd better get back now." Is she crying? I nearly am. No, I will not cry. I will _not._

"Goodbye, Evie," I croak.

"B-bye," she stutters, and hugs me. I hug back, wishing she could stay.

"Oh yes, I forgot," she mutters. "I've got a photo of Elle for you." She removes it from her pocket and hands it to me. I look at it for a second. Elle looks a lot like me.

"Thank you," I choke, and kiss her clumsily. She kisses me back, and then releases me.

"Bye, L." She says sadly, walking out of the door.

"Bye," I call but I'm not sure if she heard me. I wish things could be different. I wish we didn't have to keep saying goodbye like this. I wish I could be a normal person...


	13. Arguments

Elle

So, she knows. So what? There's still plan B, but mum needs to be back here for me to see if that was successful. For now, all I can do is wait, so I go downstairs and raid the fridge, thinking about what I'm going to say to mum. I may as well be direct. I mean, we both know she knows so there's no point denying it. Or I could always play a little game with her. After all, she can't prove it was me who put that walkie talkie there, even though we both know it was.

2 fairy cakes, a chocolate bar and a bowl of sugar later, the front door opens. I jump and hastily finish of the half eaten chocolate bar. Make that 2 chocolate bars later.

"Hi!" I call, walking to the door. "How was your _meeting_?" I put a fake grin on my face.

"Fine," mum says, with a grin just as fake as mine. "I love having time to myself and my friends, without any nosy people listening in."

"Good, good." I say. "I'm sure it was very interesting. So, did anything odd happen while you were out?"

"I don't think so. Oh, wait, yes there was one thing. It's funny, look what I found in my bag!" She produces the walkie talkie.

"That's odd. Why did you put a walkie talkie in your bag?" I ask. We both know that I did it, but I'm not going to tell her until she's proved it was me. I enjoy being a pain in the neck like that.

"I didn't put it there. Odd, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I can't think why there would be a walkie talkie in your bag unless you put one there. Maybe it fell in there?" Mum shakes her head.

"No, I don't think that's it. The power button was taped down."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't know why it was there. It's really strange. Oh, wait a second! Maybe somebody was listening to my conversations!"

"Why would anyone want to do that?" I ask, my innocent look on my face.

"I have no idea. Maybe they heard something they shouldn't have once when I was talking on the phone, and wanted to find out more. I wouldn't blame them, but they could have just asked." I don't care. I'm still not going to admit it.

"That's an interesting theory. But what would you be talking about that anyone would want to listen in to?"

"I might have had a small conversation about a certain detective on the Kira case that for some reason someone might have wanted to listen to."

"So you think Kira put that walkie talkie in your bag?" I ask, being deliberately stupid.

"No, I don't think so. I think whoever it was was probably listening for a more personal reason. Like they might have been related to that certain detective somehow."

"Related? How do you mean?"

"Maybe it was his daughter, and she didn't know much about her dad so she wanted to find out more?"

"Maybe." I yawn. "But you haven't really got any proof for that. So I'll just leave you to try and find out who did it, and..."

"Quit playing games." Mum moans.

"Games?"

"I really don't feel like playing word games with you about whether or not you put the walkie talkie in my bag. We both know you did it, so don't mess around. Please. I don't even care. I would have done the same thing, so it would be hypocritical to tell you off."

"So why are we even having this discussion?"

"I just want you to be honest."

"But why should I be honest when you haven't?" I ask, starting to get annoyed.

"What do you mean I haven't been honest?"

"I mean you've kept this from me for so long. You never told me anything about L. I can understand you doing that when I was a small kid, but now? I'm old enough to be trusted with these things! When were you planning to tell me? Never?" The look on her face tells me that I was right about when they were going to tell me. "Do you really think I'm _that _untrustworthy?"

"No, but..."

"I think I know well enough not to go spreading it around. You've been lying since I was born, and you expect me to be honest? That's just hypocritical. I don't even know why I'm bothering to talk to you, it's not as if you're going to be honest about anything." I turn around and begin to walk out of the room.


	14. L's Real Name

Elle

For a minute, I think mum is going to shout back. But just as I'm opening the door to go out, she steps forwards and hugs me. Not a good idea when I'm this angry.

"Get off me!" I yell.

"No." What is she _doing? _I try to struggle free, but she won't let go. I stop.

"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" I ask.

"I'm trying to stop you getting out of this room until we've sorted this out. Will you try to run off if I let go of you?" I shake my head.

"I don't believe you."

"Well in that case, why bother asking?" I snap.

"Never mind. Anyway, I know. We should have told you. But think about it, would it be better to never know who your father is or to meet him just once and never again?"

"The latter."

"Really? I would have thought it would be the former."

"Well it's not. I would like to at least know who my father is."

"Well maybe I could tell you a _little..."_ mum says sneakily. I know she's trying to change the subject and stop me being angry at her, but it works.

"Like what? I know. Tell me his real name. I'll get confused if you keep calling him L." Mum hesitates.

"You're not Kira, are you?" What?

"Kira? I'm not Kira. What makes you ask that?" I can see why though. I did ask her pretty directly for L's name, and I know mum trusts me to a certain extent. _In fact_, I muse, if I **was **Kira I'd be in a pretty powerful position. There's a chance I'll be meeting L soon, so I'd know what he looks like. And if I wanted to I could probably get the name out of mum. Such a shame I'm against Kira.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I trust you and everything, but the less people there are right now that know L's real name the better. And to be honest," she grins, "you're one of the few people I know who's clever enough to be Kira. I'm sorry, I won't tell you L's real name but I can tell you something else." But I want to know L's name...

"Well I can make a pretty good guess. My surname's Lawliet, but your surname's Endarr, so L's surname is one of those two, with it most likely to be Lawliet. Around 64% I'd say."

"Why would you say that? I might be married to him and given you my old surname." Mum pauses as she realises that she'd just given it all away.

"But why would you do that? Alright, his surname's Lawliet. So, his first name. I think it's probably something really obvious that would make people kick themselves if they found out. And my name's Elle, so I'm guessing... L? As in just the letter."

"Nope," mum says. I look at her suspiciously and she looks away.

"Well I wouldn't say yes even if you were right, so you're not getting anything out of me!"

"I just did. OK, so he's called L Lawliet, like me, except it's an L not Elle. Interesting..." I deliberately say this loudly, looking for a reaction. I get one.

"You shouldn't shout it out like that!" Mum hisses. "If you're going to guess, guess quietly in case you get it right. Anyone could be listening."

"OK, so I got it right then?"

"I didn't say that... alright, yes you did." She obviously realised she had just as good as admitted it. I smile.

"Good! So, anyway, what else were you going to tell me about him?"


	15. Buses

_OK, I've finally got to the bit where it starts to get interesting! I mean, properly interesting!_

_..._

Elle

I wake up with a start and hastily smack my alarm clock to stop it waking mum up too. I could really do without her discovering plan B as well. I creep out of my room, and stand outside mum's door, pressing my ear to the wood. I've learnt from last time. This time, I'm actually going to check she's asleep first. I can hear deep, rhythmic breathing that sounds like sleeping so it looks like the coast is clear. I didn't want to risk anything, so that's why I'm checking plan B in the middle of the night. I sneak downstairs, and think about when I last saw mum's bag. I think it was in the living room. I look around in there for a minute, and see it sitting on the floor. Good, good. I open it and remove all the contents. I then reach into it and hook my nails underneath the sheet of cardboard I had placed in the bag to act as a fake bottom. It was a rubbish fake bottom, but I had counted on mum not looking any further after she found the walkie talkie for any other cheap, rubbishy espionage devices. And sure enough, there it is. A cheap plastic recording device. I take it out and switch it off. No point in recording any more. Now all I need is some headphones.

I grin as the recording finishes playing. It had worked perfectly. And what's more, I think L knew I had been listening to them somehow. He'd issued a direct challenge to me!

"I accept," I pronounce. Now that that's out of the way, I need to put stage 2 of my plan into action. I creep into the kitchen and pick up the phone, selecting the "numbers last called" option. I cycle through the numbers, looking for one I didn't recognise. I find it very quickly, probably because it's shorter than normal ones. This must be it. When I was hiding in the cupboard, I remember thinking the number was shorter than the rest. I memorise the number, and replace the phone. Now for stage 3 of my plan- go back to bed!

I wake up at a more sensible time, and get out of bed. I'm going out today. Well, I'm not going to try to phone Watari at home. Mum could catch me at any time. I'm going to go and use a phone booth in town. Plus, I'd like to visit that rather promising looking new sweet shop that's opening...

I stand at the bus stop, bored out of my life. The bus is late, as usual. So now I have to wait. What's more, there's this weird guy who I swear I recognise from somewhere. He keeps glancing around him as if he's worried someone might notice something. I just ignore him. I don't know anyone like that, I must be imagining that I can recognise him. The bus finally arrives, and I get on and buy my ticket before the weird guy. I walk to the back of the bus, and see Light sitting with a girl I assume must be his girlfriend.

"Hey." I say. He looks at me oddly. I don't think he recognises me. Oh well. I take a seat at the very back of the bus, on the opposite side to Light and his girlfriend. There's only one other guy at the back, sitting directly behind Light. A loud shout makes me jump.

"Stay where you were! This is a stickup!" It's the weird guy, and now he's got a gun and is pointing it at the terrified bus driver. Now I can remember why I recognised him. He was on the news for robbing a bank and killing three people. I groan. If I'd realised, I could have called the police and stopped this from happening!

"I'll kill anyone who makes a fuss!" He sneers. "Driver, phone spaceland and tell them what's happening then give the phone to me." The driver obeys. I look at Light. He doesn't seem scared, or even surprised. It's almost as if he knew this was going to happen... The hijacker continues to shout at the bus driver while I watch Light intently. He's doing something, it looks like he's writing something on a note. What's he up to? He shows his girlfriend the note, and the guy behind grabs his arm.

"Don't do that, it's too dangerous," he mutters. Light continues to write on the paper.

"You don't have to write," the man says. "We're at the back, he can't hear us over the traffic." Light screws up the paper.

"How do I know you're not his accomplice?"

"Accomplice?" His girlfriend whimpers. Light explains how bus jackers sometimes have an accomplice at the back of the bus to take over if something went wrong. I look suspiciously at the guy. Could he be an accomplice? He doesn't seem like one, but you can't judge by appearances. He sighs.

"Alright. Here's my proof." Nosy as I am, I crane my neck to see the card he's showing Light. Three letters catch my eye. FBI. Wow, he's from the FBI. I read the name. Raye Penber...

"OK," says Light. "I won't ask what an FBI agent is doing on the bus. You've got a gun right?" Raye Penber nods. "Then I'll let you handle this." He hands the ID card back and begins to put the scrap of paper back in his pocket, but drops it. Was it me or did he somehow switch it with another piece of paper?

"Oops!" he says and bends to pick it up. The drug addict turns round.

"Stay where you are! What's that?" He walks over and picks up the note. He laughs.

"This where you were meeting your date?" He chucks the note at Light. "You can have this... AGH! WHAT THE HELL? WHAT IS _THAT?" _I turn and look where he's pointing, but there's nothing there. Is he hallucinating? Maybe he's on drugs. Raye Penber reaches inside his jacket for a gun. Light smirks. Why is he smiling in a situation like this? The drug addict fires at the back window and I duck as the glass shatters.

"Monster! How did you get there? Why won't you die?"

"He's hallucinating! Everyone get down!" Raye Penber yells. Even though there's no bullets left in his gun, the guy keeps trying to fire at the back window.

"AHHH!" He screams, and drops the gun. He runs to the front of the bus.

"Stop the bus!" He yells. The driver slams on the brakes, and opens the doors. The drug addict jumps out. Straight into the path of a car, which slams into him and sends him flying. Everyone spills out of the bus in horror and looks at him. He's lying motionless on the ground, and a dark red circle is beginning to form around his head. I look at Light. He STILL isn't showing any kind of reaction! In fact, he seems to be... smiling? The bus driver is on the phone calling an ambulance, but to be honest I think that guy's dead. He certainly looks it.


	16. Candy Floss

Elle

The ambulance comes, but it's clear that the guy is dead. Another criminal dead. I would say that it was probably Kira, but Kira can only kill with heart attacks. Or can he? That's an interesting thought; if he could kill other ways apart from heart attacks then he could do that to cover up deaths he wouldn't want to be noticed. Like this one? But why would Kira want to cover up this particular death? That is, assuming it _was _Kira. Now that I think about it, right before he died that drug addict was acting really strangely. Maybe he was on drugs, but he didn't look like he was. And it was almost as if he was reading from a script. Kira can control his victims before they die, but why would he make the addict act like that? Maybe it was something to do with that FBI agent. It's possible, even quite likely that the FBI are involved with Kira. Maybe the FBI agent was a threat, and Kira needed to find his name to kill him, which now that I think about it would make Kira...

Light Yagami.

But this is all based on speculation. It's not proof, and even if I went to the police with it it wouldn't mean anything. But if Raye Penber was to die in the next few days... THAT would be proof. It makes sense, but only if you assume that Light Yagami is Kira and he can kill in ways other than heart attacks. The FBI agent would have been following Light as a suspect I assume, and Light needed to get rid of him. So he set this thing up so the FBI agent would have no choice but to show him his ID.

But Light Yagami can't be Kira. He's Sayu's brother! But when I think about it, he _was _acting oddly for the whole bus journey. He didn't seem surprised when the criminal hijacked the bus, or when he died. The actual probability of him being Kira is really low though. Less than 1%, but it's still a possibility. In fact, I think I might try and look into it however I can. It'd be interesting. Speaking of Light, he's talking to that FBI agent. I walk slowly past them, trying to listen to the conversation.

"...mustn't know that I was on the bus so please don't tell anyone," Raye Penber said.

"It's OK, really. I won't ask why you were there and I won't tell anyone," Light promised sincerely. Am I the only one that noticed the faintest hint of a smirk on his face? Or am I just being paranoid? Oh well, looks like I'm not going to hear anything more here. I sigh and walk in the direction of town. I've had enough of buses for today.

YUM! This new sweet shop makes the best candy floss I've ever tasted. I'm glad I made the trip. No, I haven't forgotten about Light maybe being Kira and L definitely being my father. It's just this candy floss is so tasty! I sit on a bench and lick at the fluffy pink strands until they've all disappeared. Which doesn't take long. I throw the stick in the bin, and stand up. The nearest phone box I know of is near the bakery, so I head in that direction.

I reach the phone box in five or so minutes. It's empty. I walk in, insert my money, lift the receiver and dial the number I had memorised. _Ring ring. Ring ring. _My heart is thumping so loud I swear people can hear it all the way down the other end of the street. This is really exciting. _Ring ring. _Come on, pick up! _Ring ri..._

"Hello?" It's the same voice I had heard when eavesdropping on mum.

"Hey, Watari. It's E." I say, trying to keep my voice steady. There's a pause.

"Really?" He sounds suspicious. I guess I don't sound a lot like my mum over the phone.

"Yes, and I can prove it if you want."

"Well, go on then."

"I know about Elle..." He sighs.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but could you be a little more specific? Give me... I don't know. A physical description." I can tell he's suspicious.

"I... um, _she _has black spiky hair, dark eyes, likes sugar a lot..." Watari stops me.

"Alright, I believe you. I'm sorry, you sounded slightly different than you normally do so I got a little suspicious. You're phoning a lot recently, E!"

"I'll tell you why I sounded different if you promise not to put the phone down," I say. This is the part where it gets risky. I need to tell him at some point that I'm not my mum, but if I do that he might put the phone down.

"Why would I put the phone down?"

"Please. Just promise you won't... whatever I say."

"Alright _E, _I promise I won't put the phone down. You're not really E, are you?" So he guessed.

"No, I'm not. That's what I was going to say. But I'll tell you who I really am. I'm L and E's daughter, Elle." There was a sharp intake of breath.

"I thought it might be... well, it's nice to finally talk to you, Elle. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to prove it's you. Can you describe your mother for me?"

"Sure. Name's Evie Endarr. She's got long ginger hair, blue eyes, hates sweet things for some reason which I _cannot _comprehend..." Watari laughs.

"Alright, I believe you! Just out of interest, how did you find my number?"

"I heard the conversation between you and mum the other day, and I noticed the number was slightly shorter than normal ones. This morning, I looked through the last numbers that had been dialled on our phone for one that I didn't recognise that was shorter than the rest." Watari laughs again.

"Your mum was always forgetting to delete important details like that. Tell her from me that she has to remember this sort of stuff!"

"Well, to be honest I'd rather she didn't know about this phone conversation." Call it revenge, if you will. She kept me in the dark about L for all my life, now I'm going to keep her in the dark about how close I am to meeting L. Surprisingly, Watari seems to understand.

"I know what you're getting at, but you're going to have to tell her at some point. So, anyway, we both know what you're phoning up about. You want to meet L don't you?"

"Yes."

"It'll be difficult. It's pretty dangerous for L right now. You can certainly meet him at some point, but you might have to wait a while."

"How long is "a while"?" I ask suspiciously.

"Probably a few weeks. We need to make sure it's a time when there's no risk of either of you being discovered. A few weeks... is a long time to wait. But when he said "a while" I was thinking of a few months, so I suppose I ought to be thankful for that.

"And there's no way it can be sooner?" I ask.

"I'm sorry Elle, but like I said it's too dangerous right now. Just the slightest slip and Kira could kill L. That's how dangerous it is."

"How come mum could meet L just a couple of days ago? Anyway, I could help. I know someone who might be Kira. I haven't got any definite proof, but he's pretty suspicious to me." I say, starting to get annoyed.

"We've got a prime suspect now, and L is going to meet him in person. He's probably going to join the task force. But Elle, listen. I can guarantee that you will be able to meet L in at least 6 weeks. Alright? That's the best I can do right now, I'm afraid." 6 weeks. It's a while, but if it's the best they can do... I don't want L to get killed by Kira because of me.

"Alright, I guess."

"Just out of interest, what's the name of the person you think might be Kira?" Watari asks. I grin.

"Sorry, can't tell you. The phone line might not be secure. I guess I'll just have to meet you in person and tell you." Watari sighs.

"Fair enough. It was nice to talk to you, Elle. One last thing, you have to tell your mum we had this conversation. Get her to phone me, and then we can arrange a meeting, OK? Goodbye, and we'll hopefully be seeing eachother soon."

"Bye," I say and put the phone down. YES!


	17. Nosy Matsuda

Watari

I smile as I put the phone down. From what I've heard, Elle sounds a lot like L, or _Ryuzaki _as he's calling himself now. That guy has so many fake names I've stopped bothering to remember them all. I'm not even sure if L himself can remember them all. Probably. I'll have to ask him about it sometime later.

"Watari?" I turn round.

"Hello Ryuzaki."

"I've run out of cake. Could you please get me some more?"

"Of course. By the way, where are the other task force members?" I ask quietly.

"They're in the other room. Why?" I lower my voice.

"Elle just phoned me." A glint of pride appears in L's eyes.

"Really? That was faster than I anticipated. Did you find out how she got the number?" I nod.

"Evie forgot to delete it off her phone, and Elle noticed it was a few digits shorter than regular phone numbers." L nodded.

"So, was she asking to meet me?" He asks. I nod.

"I told her to talk to Evie, because she originally didn't want to tell her. And I've also promised you will meet her within 6 weeks."

"6 weeks? Why on earth did you promise that?"

"To make sure you get round to it." He pauses. He knows I'm right.

"True. She's..." he pauses and looks around him. "my daughter, after all, so she should have priority. Alright, 6 weeks it is, and we'll just have to hope that an opportunity comes up where it's safe to meet her."

"What will you do if one doesn't?"

"Well, to be honest I'm bored of doing things the "safe" way all the time. If an opportunity doesn't come up, then I'll just have to risk it and meet her at a time when we are least likely to be discovered." I sigh.

"I suppose. By the way, she mentioned that she might know who Kira is." L looks up.

"Really? Impressive. Tell me Watari, do you know which school she goes to?" This question is so random it almost throws me off track for a moment, but then I remember that L never asks questions he doesn't already have an idea of the answer to. And no matter how random they seem, they are nearly always relevant.

"I don't know, but..." I bring up a map on the computer, "She lives _here_," I highlight an area of the screen, "and the nearest school is..."

"There. Interesting." L says, not waiting for me to continue. "My prime suspect's little sister goes to that school if I remember correctly. So when she says she thinks she might know who he is, I think she may be thinking along the same lines as me." I nod. It makes sense.

"Did she mention any names?" He asks. I shake my head.

"No, she said she'd tell you when she meets you."

"I should have known," L sighs. "Oh well, I'm thinking we may be thinking about the same..." There is a knock on the door.

"Come in!" says L. Matsuda enters, and instantly cranes his neck to look at the screen. I close the map and he looks disappointed.

"So, about that cake you wanted Ryuzaki? I'll go and get it now," I say and stand up.

"What were you two talking about? You were talking about maps and schools and saying someone has the same idea as you..." Matsuda burbles.

"That's none of your concern," says L. Matsuda looks crestfallen again.

"Oh, alright. Anyway, we need you to come and look at something quickly..." L sighs and follows Matsuda out of the room. I just need to say something to Matsuda before he goes...

"Matsuda?" I call. He turns round.

"Um, yeah?"

"Stop being so nosy."


	18. Even Nosier Matsuda

Elle

I decide that the direct approach would be best for this.

"Hey, mum. I phoned Watari today." Mum spins round, as I'd expected her to.

"What?"

"I phoned Watari... and he says I can meet L, but he wants you to phone him and confirm."

"Wait, slow down! How did you get Watari's number in the first place? I never told you that! At least, I don't think I did... did I?" I shake my head.

"I searched through the phone numbers that had been called in the last week. Oh yeah, Watari told me to tell you to remember to delete stuff like that." Mum slams her palm into her forehead.

"Oops. Oh well, I guess it was only a matter of time until you managed to contact him, but still. Oops."

"So anyway," I say, eager to change the subject back to what I was really interested in here- L! "Oh yeah, I know about the fact that L wants to see what I'm capable of." I may as well confess to listening to her conversation. As well as maybe rub it in her face that she didn't notice.

"Wait... you listened to our conversation?"

"Mm hmm. Stuck a cheap plastic recorder in your bag. I heard _everything._" Mum groans.

"L will be proud of you. You're turning into a right little spy!"

"But L is a detective, not a spy." I point out helpfully. Mum shrugged.

"That too, I guess." What, I'm a right little detective too or L is a spy and a detective too? I guess it's the former.

"So anyway. I know that L's just challenged me, and when you phone Watari up can you tell him I accepted? He's probably realised already, but I just want to make sure."

"Yes, I'll tell him that. Anything else?" I think for a second.

"Say hi from me, and tell him that I'm looking forwards to meeting him."

"Alright."

L

"Ryuzaki?" Watari calls.

"Excuse me for a minute," I say, and walk into Watari's room. The first thing I notice is that he is holding a phone.

"Is it Evie?" I ask quietly. He nods.

"Yes. She says it's fine with her if Elle meets you. So now all we need to do is confirm a date when you can see her."

"May I?" I ask, holding my hand out for the phone. Watari hands it to me.

"Hello? E? It's me."

"L! Hi! So, when can you meet Elle?"

"Listen, E. To be honest, right now... I don't know. How about this. I'll get Watari to phone you when I've decided on a time, and then we can arrange it from there. Is that alright?"

"That should be OK. Well... I guess I'll see you later then."

"Bye, E." I say regretfully, and drop the phone back in the holder. I sigh, and walk out of the room, almost bumping into Matsuda, who's standing right outside the door. That idiot. Can't he stand somewhere where he's _not _in the way. What did he want anyway? A horrible thought hits me. What if he heard? I glare at him suspiciously, and he shuffles his feet around guiltily.

"Why are you glaring at me, Ryuzaki?" I say nothing and walk past him, heading for the roof. I like the roof. Nobody ever goes up there, and it gives me space to think on my own without someone yammering in my ear every five minutes. I glance back over my shoulder just in time to see Matsuda turn and follow me. Hmm...

I spin around.

"Why are you following me, Matsuda?" He nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Ryuzaki! You scared me!"

"Never mind that. Why were you following me Matsuda?" I'd led him all the way around the building just to check he _was _actually following me and I wasn't just being paranoid. Sure enough, he had followed me every step of the way. He looks away.

"It's just... well, umm... I heard you talking about someone called Evie and I was wondering who she was..."

"That's really none of your business, Matsuda, but if you must know she is one of my contacts helping me with the Kira case. And of course, Evie's not her real name." Well, I don't have to tell him the truth, do I? Matsuda looks disappointed.

"Oh... I thought she was your sister or girlfriend or something. That's just boring." Girlfriend? I wish.

"I can't afford to have a girlfriend in a position like this, and I never had any brothers or sisters. Does that answer your question, Matsuda?" Matsuda nods and turns to leave. I grab the neck of his shirt.

"Wha... Ryuzaki, what are you doing?" I ignore him.

"Sorry, I forgot to say. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention Evie to anyone. You see, if anyone found out she was working with me that might lead to my identity being revealed, and if that happens now, Kira will kill me. So don't tell anyone please?" I regret having to bully him like this, but I can't really trust Matsuda to keep a secret. I doubt anybody can. He squirms uncomfortably, and I realise I'm still holding onto him. I let go.

"Sorry," I say, not sounding sorry at all.

"Yeah, of course I won't tell anyone! Honest! What's wrong Ryuzaki? You seem to be in a really bad mood today! You don't need to be aggressive about it, you could have just asked!"

"Yeah, sorry." I mutter. "I just wanted to go and think about something, and I didn't appreciate being followed." He nods.

"Alright then. Don't let me stop you!"

"Matsuda. I meant, go and think about something _alone."_

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! I'll... I'll go then. Bye!" He scuttles off, and I wait until I'm sure he's gone before I continue to the roof.


	19. Long Lost Cousin?

_Meh... I'm bored so I decided to give you a little surprise in this chapter. Enjoyy!_

_... ..._

L

I sit down in my chair, which is _conveniently _placed behind Light Yagami. Entrance exams, but that's not really what I'm here for. Light Yagami is the person I think is most likely to be Kira, so I'm here to meet him. I look at the paper in front of me, and complete it in 10 minutes. Easy. Now for Light. I look at him. He's not writing either, looks like he's finished too. Good. I sit there, staring hard at the back of his neck. Sometimes people can tell when they're being stared at.

"Hey you! Sit properly!" Hmm. There's a 94% chance that was aimed at me. I do have my feet up on the desk, after all. I look around, and sure enough everyone's staring at me, including Light Yagami. I let out a sigh and lower my knees a fraction. Then I stare at Light. It usually grabs people's attention if you stare at them. I let a small, friendly smile creep onto my face. I have to get an opportunity to talk to him, and acting friendly seems to be the best tactic to get people to talk to you. He smiles back, or is it a smirk? It's hard to tell. To the casual observer, it would be a friendly smile but to me it looks more like a smirk. Or maybe all his smiles look like that.

"Face the front!" someone snaps and Light turns round. I sigh, and lean back in my chair slightly, lifting my feet back onto the desk.

"Look, for the last time sit properly!" I put them back down. I have a feeling this is going to be very long and very boring.

I spend the next few days getting to know Light. Of course, I already knew all about him from what Mr Yagami had told me about him, but meeting someone in person is different from knowing about them. Right now we're walking to a café so I can talk to him a bit more and see if he lets anything slip. And of course, to ask him if he wants to join the task force.

"So, even if you are Kira we would still like your help on the investigation team." I conclude. He grins, or is it another smirk?

"It's a win-win situation for you then. If I'm not Kira, you'll have my unconditional help on the Kira case, and if I _am _Kira you'll have me near you so if I slip up you'll be bound to notice."

"Very observant," I comment. I would say that increases his chance of being Kira by 34%, at least...

"Hey Light!" Someone yells across the street. I look and see his younger sister waving at him. Sayu, I think her name is. And standing next to her...

What the hell? It's... Elle. My daughter! I recognise her from the photo Evie gave me, and also because she looks so like me it would be difficult _not _to recognise her. It's all I can do to stop myself running over and shouting that I'm her father. But of course, that would make Light Yagami suspicious. And I wouldn't want Light Yagami to be suspicious. So instead I follow Light across the road, torturously slowly.

"Hello Sayu," he says. "I was just going to the café with Hideki here." I smile.

"Is this your sister, Light?" I ask politely. He nods.

"And this is Elle!" Sayu adds excitedly. Elle smiles.

"Hey."

"Elle, huh? Are you that detective then?" I ask, and possibly for the first time in my life _deliberately _bring my thumb up to my mouth and chew on the nail. Come on, Elle, notice the clues I'm dropping! Light just stares at me, probably wondering why I'm mentioning myself. Oh well. Let him wonder. Elle is also looking at me oddly.

"What did you say your name was again?" She asks.

"Hideki. Hideki Ryuga." Come on Elle, obviously fake name, I look exactly like you, I even chew on my thumb like you... Sayu laughs.

"What, like the pop star?" She asks. I nod.

"My parents had a funny sense of humour." Well, they _did. _I mean, L? What kind of a name is that?

Elle

I swear I recognise "Hideki Ryuga" from somewhere, or maybe it's because he looks like me. He really does! It's quite funny, he has practically the same hair as me, same colour eyes, slouches like me. I think I even saw him biting on his thumb a second ago! Maybe he's a long lost cousin or something!


	20. RUL?

Elle

I'm definitely not imagining it. There's something odd about Hideki, apart from his name. He seems to be staring at me. Why? It looks almost like he's trying to tell me something. Sayu butts in before I can say anything.

"You two look like eachother!" I laugh, and so does Hideki. It seems... forced, though.

"Yeah, I was just thinking that!" I say.

"Me too. Great minds think alike!" Hideki says. I swear I've heard his voice somewhere before. But where... now that I think about it, in that conversation I eavesdropped on with L and my mum, Hideki's voice sounds a bit like L's. As if out of nowhere, he pulls a packet of sweets and offers them around.

"Want one?" Wait. A _bit_? It's practically the same.

"Thanks," I say, accepting a sweet. Then I realise something.

Hideki likes sweet things.

He looks like me.

He sounds like L.

He chews on his thumb.

His name is probably fake.

He slouches like me.

He looks like he's trying to tell me something.

Surely all that has to mean something? But Hideki can't be L, because... well, now that I think about it, there's nothing to stop him being L. But the annoying thing is, I can't even ask him outright because of Light and Sayu. Well, I guess I'll have to ask him discreetly, without the others realising what I'm talking about. But how can I do that? I smile slightly as an idea hits me. I wonder how good "Hideki"'s text speak is?

I feel around in my pocket for something round. Anything round. My fingers hit a coin. Perfect. I _accidentally _flick it out of my pocket, and it begins to roll down the path.

"Oops!" I say loudly, and walk slowly towards it, but as I'd hoped Hideki gets there first. He picks it up and hands it to me.

"Here."

"Thanks," I say, staring at him meaningfully. "That's my bus fare. I wouldn't want it to _rul _down the hill!" Sayu giggles.

"Rul? That's not even a word!" She laughs. I look confused.

"Rul? I didn't say rul!" Every time I say "rul" my eyes flick to Hideki. Light grins.

"You said rul, didn't she Hideki?"

"Yes, Elle, you said rul."

"Oops. Well by rul, I meant roll." Well, that seems to be the best I can do. Hopefully he'll pick up on it if he's L, and if not... well, it was just a simple slip of the tongue.

L

Am I imagining things, or does Elle look at me every time she says "rul"? If so, I have no idea what she's on about. Rul isn't even a proper word! But maybe there's a message in there somewhere. I think Elle is probably capable of putting a hidden meaning in, and she did seem to be getting suspicious. _And _she kept looking at me expectantly every time she said it. Instinctively, I break the word down. Rul. R-U-L. Then it hits me.

Ah, so _that's _it, is it Elle? So you _did _notice something. Clever girl. It's so simple, but nobody would notice unless they were expecting something.

R-U-L. Or, if you say it out loud (which I'm not going to, for obvious reasons), are you L? I look at her. She's looking expectantly at me, obviously hoping for an answer. I'd better give her one, then. I make a very small, slight nod, so small that if Light or Sayu had seen me do it they would think it was just a simple involuntary head movement. But Elle knows what I mean. Her eyes widen, and she smiles at me. I smile back. Well done Elle.

I'm proud of you.


	21. Similarity

Elle

He... nodded? I'm sure of it. So this is L... this is my father! I stare at him. I had guessed that he was probably quite similar to me, but not _this _similar! He looks like an older male version of me! I smile at him, and he smiles back. Yep, he definitely looks like me. It's funny really. All this time and effort I've spent trying to find out who he is so we can have a meeting, and then I just go and bump into him on the street. It's annoying though, because as Light and Sayu are here I can't talk to him properly. Damn. I look at Light. He's staring at Hideki, I mean _L, _strangely. Looks like he's noticed we're both acting oddly. Sayu nudges me.

"Elle, we've got to go! Our bus leaves in a couple of minutes!" I look at her watch. AGH! It leaves in _3 minutes! _I look at L again. Why did we have to meet eachother at such an inconvenient time!

"Bye Light! Bye Hideki!" Sayu says. I smile.

"Bye," _dad, _I add silently to the end.

"See you two later" says Light.

"It was nice to meet you, Sayu, Elle." Says L quietly. I agree totally. It _was _nice to meet you.

"Come on Elle, let's go." I take one last look at my father, and leave.

Light

Those two were acting really strangely. Well, from what I know of them both they aren't exactly _normal _anyway, but they still seemed to be acting oddly even for them. Now that I think about it, they're both quite similar. And Ryuga is being really quiet now.

"Hey Ryuga, what's up? You're being very quiet!" He blinks.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking. Anyway, could I ask you a favour? When there's nobody around that knows me as Hideki Ryuga, could you call me Ryuzaki please?" OK, that's a slightly strange request. But I'm sure L has his reasons.

"Alright. Anyway Ryuzaki, Elle looked a lot like you."

"I noticed. Odd, isn't it?" I nod, then ask something which had been bugging me ever since I noticed the similarities between them.

"Do you think she's related to you?" Ryuzaki shakes his head. Not that I'd expected him to say yes. Even if they are related, he wouldn't tell the person he believes is Kira that he has family.

"I don't have any family, so she can't be related to me." He explains. I grin.

"I bet you do. You just don't want to tell me because I'm Kira." He looks up.

"Is that a confession, Light?" I laugh.

"Of course not. But I can see you're certain that I'm Kira, so you're hardly going to tell me anything that could give me an advantage over you." I smile. "If you want a confession you're going to have to try a lot harder, because I won't confess to anything I didn't do."

"I don't expect you to. In fact, although I am 83% certain you are Kira, I am also 99.9% sure you will never confess." I shrug.

"Fair enough."

Elle

"Hey, Elle, what's up? You seem really quiet!" Yes, Sayu, I _am _being quiet. But there's a reason, which I unfortunately can't tell you.

"Just thinking," I say. Which is true. This sounds mean, but I wish Sayu and Light hadn't been there so I could have had a proper conversation. But then again, if they hadn't been there I probably wouldn't have noticed L. But he might have noticed me. A sudden thought hits me. L was with Light. Does that mean he suspects him of being Kira too?

"Your brother is interested in the Kira case, isn't he?" I ask Sayu casually. She nods.

"He keeps working on it in his room. At least, that's what he says he's doing. Now that I think about it, I've got no idea what he actually does up there! He could be studying, he could be trying to find out who Kira is, or he could just be lazing about! I don't actually know!" I nod. So Light spends a lot of time in his room, and Sayu doesn't know what he does up there. That means he could be doing whatever he does to kill these criminals. Sayu scowls.

"He keeps locking his door recently. I bet he's keeping some kind of secret from us."

Now that I think about it, he probably is.


	22. Final Proof

_Umm, I've kind of cut a whole load of chapters out in this re-write. But they were rubbish anyway, so who cares? And... I kind of mucked up the time scale. But oh well._

_..._

Elle

It's been ages since I met L, and I'm still waiting for a proper meeting. Five of his promised six weeks are up. And I'm running out of stuff to eat...

"Mum? I'm going out!" I yell.

"Alright." She says.

"I'll take my phone, if L calls you, PLEASE call me straight away!" I pick up my phone and some money and leave. I know exactly where I'm going. The sweet shop is calling me...

However, when I arrive I get a nasty surprise. A _really _nasty surprise. _CLOSED._

"What!" I yelp, staring at the door and willing it to open. Understandably, it doesn't work. I sigh. Just my luck. I turn around to leave, and walk straight into someone.

"Uhh! Sorry!" I stagger backwards and look at him.

It's L!

He gives me an odd look.

"Aren't you going to go in, Elle?" I step aside to let him see the sign.

"Can't."

"What!" He says, horrified. "This is terrible!"

"I know! Just when I need some sugar too!" He looks at me.

"Your sugar levels are running low too?" I nod.

"And that means that your brainpower drops by 57%, am I right?" He continues.

...

That's the exact same percentage I was thinking of.

"Great minds think alike," I mutter. "So, anyway, it's nice to see you again."

"You too," he replies. "You wouldn't happen to have anything... sweet... on you, would you?" I shake my head.

"I wish." He suddenly looks really depressed.

"Just when I needed some cheering up..." He sighs heavily.

"Why do you need cheering up?" I ask. "Something wrong?" He shrugs.

"You could say that. Things aren't going too well at work."

"This might sound strange to you, or it might not. Are you who I think you are?" I ask. I mean, I'm 97.5% sure he is, but then again there's always that 2.5%... A small smile creeps onto his face.

"Well, that depends on who I am and who you are thinking about. Who are you thinking about?" I grin.

"I'm thinking you might have been in the news a lot recently, along with someone else. But not many people know it was _you _personally."

"That's interesting, and quite possibly true. It's a good way of putting it." We're both silent for a moment. Then I get an idea.

"I know! We could go to the other sweet shop!" L's head snaps up.

"_Other _sweet shop? You mean there's another one?" I nod.

"I don't usually go there because this one's better, but this is an emergency after all."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

In the end, I buy a large chocolate bar and L buys a bag of sweets.

"We didn't get a chance to talk properly when we saw eachother last time," I comment through a mouthful of chocolate.

"No." He hesitates, looking at me. "So, tell me Elle. Have you got any... suspicions... about Light Yagami?"

"Suspicions? Why? Have you?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Maybe, but I don't really have any proof for them. It would be a big help if someone were to tell me who _they _think is Kira." He offers me a sweet, which I take and give him a square of chocolate in return.

"Well, I don't know. It's not really very secure here," I say. "Anyone could be listening." Even though the street is completely empty. "I think we might have to arrange to meet in a more secure place if I want to tell you anything. Because after all, Light Yagami knows my name." L sighs.

"I thought you would say that." He gets to his feet. "I'd better go now. But before I go, I just want to say one thing." He grins. "Rul. That was clever. I'm proud of you." He turns to walk away.

"Wait!" I call. "You _are _gonna keep your promise, right?" He turns round.

"Promise? If I'm not who you think I am, that would have confused me. But anyway, if I _am _who you think I am then there's a high probability we'll meet again soon. Probably within the next week. Goodbye, Elle Lawliet." He waves and departs. I don't try to stop him. As if what I already knew wasn't enough, he's just given me the final proof that he's my father. He called me Elle Lawliet. But I never told him my surname...


	23. The Big Meeting

L

I walk into Watari's room, thinking hard.

"Ryuzaki? What's wrong?" I remain silent for a minute before speaking.

"Can you book a room at the hotel near E's house and phone her with the details? I've decided that now is probably the best time to meet Elle." What I don't tell Watari is that I have the feeling if I don't meet Elle now I might never get the chance...

"Finally. I was wondering if I was going to have to do it for you! What time shall I say?"

"4:00 in the morning. I won't be able to get away from the others at any other time." Watari nods, and hesitates.

"Ryuzaki?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad that you're finally going to meet her. I think it will do you good. You seem like you need to talk to someone." Watari always seems to know roughly what I'm thinking.

"Yes, I do. Thanks for everything, Watari." I leave the room, and walk straight into Matsuda. Again. I look at him suspiciously. Was he listening _again? _If he was... he might know something. But then again, at this stage I doubt it matters, so instead of challenging I just push past him.

Elle

I'm silent for a moment, wondering if I should tell mum. Maybe.

"Mum?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"Does L like sweets?" Mum stares at me.

"How do you know that?" Now, should I tell her or should I leave it?

"Just wondering," I say. The phone rings, and mum and me both lunge to get it first. Mum wins. I walk off in a sulk, wondering what mum's childish obsession with getting to the phone first is. For all I know, that could be L, and she still wants to get there first? I turn around and stick my tongue out.

"I let you win," I mutter, and walk off.

Mum comes up into my room. I practically fall off my chair in excitement.

"Was it L?" The grin on her face tells me I was right.

"Yep. He says he'll meet you tomorrow morning." Mum smiles evilly. Uh oh, what's the catch?

"What's the catch?" I ask suspiciously.

"Oh, you'll have to be up early. It's at 4:00 in the morning!" I sigh. Phew.

"Is that it? I thought it was gonna be something really bad. Anyway, where?" 

"At that hotel down the road. Room 409. You can go there by yourself, I can _not _be bothered to get up at 4:00."

"Alright!" I grin. Finally, all my hard work has paid off!

3:30 the next morning.

_Beep bee..._ I leap out of bed and smack my alarm clock. I wasn't asleep. I was too excited to sleep! Quickly, silently, I get dressed and run downstairs quietly. I walk into the kitchen and scowl at the array of cereal on display. I can't waste time eating cereal! Instead, I grab a fairy cake and begin eating it whilst leaving the house.

Once I'm outside I turn left and begin to walk down the road. The street looks so different in the dark. It's quite nice actually, but I remind myself that this is the time when most people get mugged, or raped, or murdered. I should be alright, I know some self defence and I've got my phone with me but I should still be on my guard. I look suspiciously ahead, seeing figures. Oh damn. A gang. Maybe I should ignore them. I keep my gaze straight ahead despite feeling their gazes on the back of my neck, and continue walking. They ignore me. I release a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding and continue down the road to the hotel. I walk inside and ask the sleepy receptionist for room 409. He gives me directions, and I thank him and walk up the stairs. Let's see... room 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408... 409. Here it is. Room 409. L. I swallow, and knock on the door. A pause. Then...

"Come in!"

Slowly, I turn the handle and enter the room. Directly opposite me is an empty table. Where is he?

"Over here." I turn around. Sitting on the sofa is a tall, dark haired man. I stare at him.

"What the..."

This man is not Hideki Ryuga.


	24. One More Day

_Mwahahaha... mystified? I will explain all _

_..._

Elle

"_You're _L? My dad?" I ask. Was I wrong? How could I have been wrong?

"What? No, I'm not L! Wait! You're L's _daughter?_ L had a daughter?" OK, so maybe I was right. So why is it this idiot here, and not L?

"Well if you're not L who are you and why are _you_ here, not him?" I ask.

Matsuda

How am I going to explain this...?

"My name is Touta Matsuda." I say, as if that explained everything. Elle glares at me.

"Whatever. Why isn't L here? Why are _you _here?"

"I'm here because L... couldn't make it. I... overheard him talking to Watari about meeting with someone, and it seemed important to him, so when I found out he couldn't come, I thought I'd better come and... explain."

"Explain what! Why couldn't L come? This better be good," she hisses. Damn, she's angry. I swallow. This is going to be difficult.

"Well..."

The day before

L

After arranging the meeting with Elle, I head straight to the roof. I really don't want to talk to anyone, and I need to think about something in private for a while.

The situation I'm in right now is the worst possible.

I open the door and step outside. The rain is coming down in buckets, but I don't really care. A little privacy is worth getting wet. I walk to the edge of the roof and look at the dark sky. Alright. The fact is, there's a high chance I'm going to die soon. Light Yagami has been all but proved innocent. If he's Kira, he'll jump at the chance of getting rid of me. It's what I'd do in his situation too. I still think he's Kira, no matter what that damn book says about the 13 day rule. Light knows that, so if he is Kira he will kill me before I get a chance to make him a suspect again. And if Light isn't Kira, I'll have to start this whole bloody case all over again.

I don't think I've ever felt this depressed, except for that one day...

I try to think a logical way out of this. I should probably start off with trying to prove that Light is still a plausible suspect. And the only way I can do that is to test the notebook. If the 13 day rule is fake, as I think it is, then Light could still be Kira and he probably wouldn't kill me for a while. If not... I'll have to start the case again. Damn.

"Ryuzaki?" Damn.

Somebody's found me. I turn around and see the last person on earth I actually want to talk to. Light Yagami. Can't he just go away? If he's Kira, he's beaten me. What more does he want?

"Go away!" I mutter under my breath. Then I grin as if I'm happy to see him. Hello _friend. _

"What are you doing out here all on your own?" He calls.

"Standing. What does it look like, moron?" I mutter, but reconsider. I can play with his conscience a little here. That is, assuming he has one. I look confused and put my hand to my ear. You want to talk to me, you have to get wet. He repeats his question and I feign deafness again. In the end, he comes out to talk to me. Good.

"What are you doing, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm not really doing anything..." Light stays silent for a minute. Then, I decide to ask him something.

"Have you _ever _told the truth since you were born, Light?" He looks shocked. Ha ha.

"What are you talking about Ryuzaki? Human beings aren't perfect, we all lie from time to time. But I always try and make an effort not to lie when I don't need to." Hmm... sure you do. I sigh.

"I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense am I? I never do..."

"I know that better than anyone. Come on, let's get inside." Reluctantly, I follow Light back inside.

"Ryuzaki... what is this?"

"The notebook is going to be used in an execution. The person writing the name down will be another criminal who is going to be executed. If they don't die after the 13 days are up, then they will be pardoned."

"Why do we need to test the notebook? We all know it's real!"

"Listen!" I snap. "We are so close. We need to test the notebook out. If one of those rules are fake..." a flash of lightning interrupts my sentence. I'm glad Light made me come inside now. All the lights go out.

"Agh!" screams Matsuda. Then, something terrible happens.

All of the screens with Watari's W on them flicker, and show the same message.

_All data deleted._

"Watari? Watari!" I call. No response. Oh god... is Watari dead? I told him to delete all data if something happened to him. He was like a father to me, he can't be dead! And now that I think about it, if Watari _is _dead, that means...

"Where's the shinigami?" I ask, trying to control my rising panic. Everyone looks around the room.

"She's gone!"

"Where is she?" No shinigami. If she's not here... no, everything's going wrong!

"Everyone!" I yell. "The shiniga..." But that is as far as I get.

A sharp pain begins in my chest. If I had the air, I would scream. It grows, getting gradually worse and worse. No... Kira... it must be... There is a loud clatter. I realise that I've dropped the spoon I didn't even notice I was holding. Everyone is staring at me now. I don't usually drop things. I try to say something, but my mouth won't move.

I'm going to die.

And that means that I'm never going to get to meet Elle...

Shit.

Kira, why wouldn't you let me have one more day?

Suddenly, I'm falling sideways. I can't even stay upright.

Just one more day!

I should have accepted Evie's help... I'm sorry Elle.

Someone dives for me, and I realise it's Light. He caught me before I hit the floor.

I'm sorry Elle, I'm sorry Evie... I love you both...

Elle is going to think I abandoned her.

"Ryuzaki!" someone shouts. I realise it's Matsuda. Matsuda! He knows! Matsuda, you're my only hope that my daughter will realise I didn't abandon her... you idiot.

I really wanted to meet Elle properly. Really.

I can't breathe.

Light stares down at me.

"Ryuzaki? Snap out of it!" Wait. Are those tears? But if so, why is he smirking at me?

Light Yagami is Kira!

I knew it. I wasn't wrong. But... why is he crying?

He's won... I'm dying... Kira has won...

Elle! Evie! I'm so sorry!

So... sorry...

Everything starts to go black.

Elle...

Evie...

Watari...

I...


	25. Best Friend, Worst Enemy

Light

I've finally done it! L is dead. It's kind of sad though, when I lost my memory of the death note I guess he became a friend. We could never have been proper friends though, because he was trying to stop me. L was always going to die, and Kira was always going to win. That's just how it went. But there's one thing that's been bothering me all this time. What exactly was L's real name?

I pick up the death note and open it. I flick past the pages full of criminals names, and finally arrive at a page where there's only two names written.

_Quillish Wammy. _That must be Watari. I can't imagine L being called Quillish Wammy somehow. And Watari died first, so that must be him. I look down to the second name.

_L Lawliet. _I laugh. What kind of a name is L? But something seems... familiar here. It's ridiculous, but I swear I recognise the name.

"L Lawliet." When I say it out loud it sounds familiar. But I've never heard of anyone with the first name L.

Now that I think about it though, I know someone with the first name _Elle _who I once thought could be related to Ryuzaki. But I can't remember her surname...

No matter. I can find out easily from Sayu.

Back at the hotel

Matsuda

I can't beat about the bush any longer. I have to tell her.

"Well, uh, I really don't want to have to be the one to tell you this but uh, L... well, Kira... Kira killed him. I'm sorry! I really didn't want to have to tell you this!"

Elle

What? L is dead? I stare at Matsuda.

"Are you serious?" Please can he be lying, please!

"I'm sorry... I wish I _was _lying, believe me!"

"No..." I whimper. I saw him twice. TWICE! I only saw my father two times in my whole life. And we didn't even have a proper conversation. "You mean he was murdered by Kira?" I ask, trying not to cry. I won't cry in front of this Matsuda guy.

"Y...yeah, I'm really sorry! I thought I should tell you, in case you thought he just didn't bother or something... I'm sorry! Really sorry!" The fact that I only just saw my father yesterday, and sometime between that and now he had been murdered was horrible! I nod.

"Elle... uh, if it makes you feel better..."

"It won't. Thank you Matsuda, but no thanks. I should go now. Goodbye." I open the door and exit. So... Kira. I'm going to find you, Kira. I'm going to find out who you are, and kill you. Even if you are my best friend's brother.


	26. Promise

Elle

I stumble out of the hotel in a daze. The receptionist had noticed I was crying, and had asked me what was wrong. I had ignored him. I can't believe that just happened. My father is dead and I only got to meet him twice. If he had lived just one more day, I could have met him again, talked to him properly this time. But I've only met him twice, so how can I miss him so much? Another uncomfortable thought hits me.

How am I going to tell mum?

I arrive home and sit down on the sofa. I don't want to go to bed and sleep after all this. Instead, I will stay up and plot my revenge on Kira. Obviously, I need to find out who he or she is. Light Yagami is my prime suspect, so starting with him would be a good idea. He should be easy enough to investigate through Sayu. And once I've found out who Kira is, I can kill him.

I open my eyes. I was _asleep? _How could I have slept? I can normally go for days without sufficient sleep, but the one time when I _want _to stay awake I fall asleep. Why? I get up off the sofa and go into the kitchen. On the way I bump into mum. Oh no...

"Hi Elle!" She says brightly. "How was it?" I remain silent, trying to think of a tactful way to tell her. I can now see what a difficult job that Matsuda guy had last night. Her smile fades, as if she can see something's wrong.

"Are you OK?" I shake my head. Her expression turns to one of concern.

"Did you have an argument or something?" I find my voice. I have to tell her.

"Well... I don't really know how to say this."

"Didn't you get along?" She asks.

"It's not that... well. Mum, he wasn't there. There was this guy called Matsuda there and he told me..." I swallowed. "He told me L had been killed by Kira." Mum freezes.

"What?"

Evie

Oh god, she did not just say what I thought she did... She remains silent.

"Elle, _what did you just say?" _I practically scream. She looks at me, and I see red marks around her eyes. It's true...

"L's dead?" I ask, on the verge of tears.

"Yes," she chokes. I can't hold it in then. Tears begin to roll down my face. How can L have died? This can't be happening...

"But mum? I'll catch Kira. That's a promise. I'll catch Kira and kill him in revenge." What?

"Elle! For god's sake, that's what L said and look where that got him! What makes you think you can do any better?" She can't honestly be considering...

"I think I know who Kira is."

"SO DID L!" I scream. "But that didn't help because he couldn't get any proof!"

"Well I know I can, because I know him personally. And there's no way I'm going to tell him I suspect him. It will be easy for me to sneak around behind his back to find things out."

"But what if it all goes wrong?" I ask. "I don't want a repeat of this. I don't want to lose anyone ever again, and that includes you. I wouldn't be able to cope..." I sob. Elle puts her arm around me.

"I promise I won't let Kira kill me." I don't say what I'm really thinking.

_But that's what L said..._


	27. Family Problems

Elle

So, where to start? I would say... the task force. I know they are still chasing after Kira. I could join them. And my best link to the task force is Light Yagami. That's really ironic. Kira is the best way to catch Kira.

But wait. What if he's worked out who I am?

He knows my name. And he knows what I look like.

In order to kill L, he must have learnt his name. Our surnames are the same. And he noticed how similar we are...

So. I'll assume that he knows I am L's daughter. That means I need to be cautious. If I give him any obvious trouble, he can kill me easily. So, I'll need to be discreet. Pretend that I don't think he's Kira. Get close to him. And then... then I can kill him and get my revenge.

"Elle? Elle, are you listening?" Oops. The teacher is talking to me.

"Hmm?" I say, looking up. The whole class is staring at me. How long has he been talking to me for? He gives me a strange look.

"Are you alright? You're acting strangely today. It's not like you to blank out like that." Yeah, sure I'm OK. My dad has just been murdered, and the worst thing is I can't even talk to anyone about it.

"I'm... just a bit tired." The teacher nods sympathetically.

"Alright. Just try and do your best. Anyway, as I was saying, you got the highest mark in the class in the test last week. Full marks. Well done." I smile for the first time in ages. That test was really easy anyway.

"Are you sure you're Ok Elle?" Sayu whispers to me. "You've been acting strangely all day. You've been even quieter than normal." I shake my head.

"I'm fine. I've just been feeling a bit ill today." Well, emotionally ill anyway. Technically, that's not a lie. Sayu looks at me. She's not fooled.

"What's _really _wrong, Elle?"

"Family problems." Also, technically not a lie. In fact, it is actually the truth. For once. I'm sick of lying to people.

"Have you and your mum been arguing?" I nod. Definite lie this time. Sayu bites her lip. "That must be bad, when it's just you two. Do you ever get lonely, not having any brothers or sisters?" I shake my head.

"It's not that. It's not having a dad that gets to me. I just get annoyed, only having one parent to go to. Because if you've been arguing with them, what do you do?"

"Did you ever know your dad?" I glance at Sayu. That was stupid of me, mentioning my dad. Once again, the easiest way out of this is to lie.

"No. He died when I was young." Well, I _am _young. There is a long silence.

"Oh. Sorry..." Sayu says. I sigh.

"Don't worry about it. How can I miss someone I've never met?" Or someone I've never met as a father, for that matter? Unfortunately somehow it is possible. I've proved that. Another awkward silence. I think Sayu knows that I'm keeping something from her, but doesn't want to ask in case I get upset. Good, Sayu. Just keep quiet and stop asking awkward questions.

I arrive home, slamming the door behind me. Not in the mood for talking. I head straight for my bedroom, slam the door and jump onto my bed, facing the wall. Why me? Why couldn't I be someone else's daughter?

"Damn you Kira for existing," I growl. "Damn you L for dying. Damn you Matsuda for telling me and being an idiot."


	28. Matsuda the Chicken

Matsuda

I can't stop thinking about that girl. Elle. Ryuzaki's daughter! I can't believe he had a daughter! And the way he reacted when I heard him and Watari talking about this Evie person... she must be the mother! Yes, that's it! But poor Elle. I really wish it hadn't been me breaking the bad news. Being sensitive isn't exactly my speciality. I guess I'm a bit too... idiotic... for that sort of thing. But I want to make it up to her somehow. But how?

I know! Kira! Elle is definitely gonna want revenge, right? So, catching Kira is the perfect way to make it up to her. Or giving her information that helps _her _catch Kira herself would be even better! And I'm in one of the best possible positions to do that! I could... leak information to her. Oh, jeez, it sounds so bad like that- leaking information! I'll feel like a criminal if I go ahead with this. But... surely it's OK... I mean, come on! It's for a good cause! And anyway, this is Ryuzaki's daughter we're talking about! She acted like him in the short time I saw her. Surely she has his intelligence. And his morals. She wouldn't do anything stupid. Well, nothing _too _stupid anyway. But, I must say, some of Ryuzaki's methods _did _seem a little stupid to me... Argh, Matsuda, stop thinking like that! Ryuzaki was a genius! If you didn't understand his methods, it's because you're not clever enough to! So, it's decided. I'll track down Elle and give her information about Kira. Maybe she's worked something out as well, she might share it with me! That would be... good! The others might actually show some gratitude then! Imagine that- me, Touta Matsuda, the hero of the Kira case! I like the sound of that.

I sneak along to Ryuzaki's old room. I don't want Light or anyone to see me, because to be honest, ever since Ryuzaki died, Light's been a little... strange. And everyone else does what he says without question. So, if Light decides not to let me look at Ryuzaki's stuff, the others will stop me looking at it. Without question. I place my hand on the doorknob, then reconsider. Instead of bursting straight in, I look through the keyhole, leaning on the door. I need to check if there's anyone in there, but before I actually get the chance to see anything, the door opens and I collapse inside. Not again! This brings back unpleasant memories of listening in on the Yotsuba group, the door opening and me falling into a meeting full of people, one of which was Kira... but this time I've got lucky. The room is empty. I breathe a sigh of relief, picking myself up and dusting off my clothes. I really need to work on being more sneaky and not falling through doors as often.

"So," I mutter. "Here I am." I should really hurry up and find what I'm looking for, the others will probably notice I'm missing soon. But what _am _I looking for? Hmm. Ah! A mobile phone! Did Ryuzaki have one? If he did, that would be a good place to start. But I seem to remember he wasn't too keen on them... but everyone has a mobile phone! Even if he didn't, I can't think of anything else to look for. So, a mobile phone it is. I shiver, realising how creepy this is. I'm in a dead guys room, looking for his stuff! What if ghosts exist? What if there's a ghost here? I whimper. I can't help being a chicken! The thought of ghosts freaks me out!

"Ghosts don't exist, Matsuda," I whisper to myself. "There's no such thing." Even so, let's just get this over and done with as quickly as possible. I walk over to the chest of drawers and search in them. Damn! They're empty! Suddenly, I realise this was a stupid idea. They'll have taken all of Ryuzaki's stuff out! Well, let's get out of here then. Hurriedly, I walk to the door and exit.

Well, that plan failed. I'll have to think of something else. All of the data on the computer was deleted when Watari died... but Light is trying to restore it! Maybe if I wait, he'll be able to do it and then I can... hack the computer or something, and find something out! Yes, I'll do that.


	29. Countdown!

_Mwahahaha, I've decided something! What? I'm not gonna tell you!_

* * *

Matsuda

Light has finally got the majority of the files back onto the computer! So, now all I need to do is hack it. Wait. How do you hack computers anyway? I've never exactly tried before, but it can't be too difficult can it? I wait until everyone else has left to go to bed before I creep down to the computer room. I'll have to be careful of Light, though. He sometimes stays up all night working. He seemed really upset when Ryuzaki died... well, we all were. But he seemed especially upset. He can't be Kira! If he were Kira, he would have been ecstatic! How could Ryuzaki think he was Kira. Well... I've thought it a couple of times to be honest. But now I'm certain. He's definitely not Kira. I creep down the corridor. It is definitely _not _spooky here in the slightest, and I am definitely _not _scared. At least, until someone taps me on the back.

I yelp. It wasn't a scream. I don't scream. But I definitely made some kind of shocked noise. It's Mr Yagami.

"Matsuda, don't scream so loud. You'll wake people up," he whispers. I go red, but as it's dark he hopefully can't see it.

"That was _not _a scream," I whisper. "You just made me jump." Mr Yagami sighs.

"I'm just checking that Light isn't still up. He needs to rest. He's been staying up all night every night for weeks. Why are you up?"

"I needed the bathroom," I lie. Mr Yagami stares at me.

"Wait. Why are you still in your clothes?" Well... I knew I was probably gonna get caught. And... my pyjamas are kind of embarrassing. They have ducks on. And they're yellow. _I_ like them, but people laugh at me...

"I have? Um... let's go look for Light." I follow Mr Yagami, cursing my bad luck. I really, _really _need to work on being sneaky. I mean, getting caught at this time?

"Light? What are you still doing up?" Sure enough, Light is still there, tapping away at the computer. He looks at his father, and is it my imagination or did he hide something under the piles of paper on the desk as we came in? And why is he holding a pen?

"Dad? Matsuda? I'm working. Not to be rude, but this bit is kind of complicated, so I need to be on my own to work it out." Mr Yagami steps forwards.

"Light. You can't keep this up. When was the last time you slept?" Light stares at him. Why is he reminding me of Ryuzaki...?

"I've got to do this. Kira _has _to be caught."

"Yes, but you need rest! You can't just keep going on and on with no sleep!" Light shakes his head.

"Yes I can. I need... to avenge Ryuzaki. I _need_ to catch Kira." Looks like Elle's not the only one who wants revenge. Suddenly, I realise this is the perfect opportunity. If I can get Light and his dad out of here, the computer will be left unprotected! I put on a serious expression.

"Light, we all want Kira caught as soon as possible. But can't this wait till the morning? You need sleep. Even Ryuzaki slept sometimes." At least, I _think _he did. But then again... "You should at least take a refreshment break every so often. When was your last proper meal? I'm sure it won't affect this if you leave it for a couple of minutes..."

Light

Damn! I need to get them out of here! I was writing in the other death note when they came in. I managed to hide it, but Matsuda saw me do something. If I leave this room for even a second, it will all be over. He'll look; I know he will. And there's no way I could wiggle myself out of that one. So... how to get them out?

Matsuda

I continue talking to Light, but he clicks away at the computer, seemingly not even listening. I need to get him out! Suddenly, he yells, making me jump.

"Light! You'll wake people up!" He ignores me, clicking frantically at the computer. I peer at the screen. There is a timer on it, counting down from 2 minutes.

"What's that?" I ask.

"If I don't enter this password in 2 minutes, all the data I've retrieved will be deleted. _Permanently. _Not even I will be able to get it back if that happens. And I don't know the password. Ryuzaki sure was sneaky... please you two, get out. I need quiet..." We hastily leave the room. That's my opportunity tonight gone, but hopefully another time Mr Yagami will be able to persuade Light to sleep. Then I can try again.

Light

Too easy. All I had to do was bring up a timer and tell them all the data would be deleted if they didn't get out. Matsuda's an idiot, he believed me, and dad trusts my every word. So, now let's hide the death note properly. I pick it up and hide it in the drawer, before locking it, removing the key and placing it in my pocket. I know this is the only key there is for this drawer, so I should be safe. For now. That was too close.

Matsuda

I peek back into the room. Please, please please let Light be able to figure out the password! Please! Wait, what is he doing? He's hiding something in the drawer. And he's taken the key away. I suppose he's found the password already. God, that guy is clever. But he has something to hide! And I wanna know what it is! I begin to enter the room, but Mr Yagami grabs me.

"Matsuda! What are you _doing? _You heard Light! Do you want the data to get deleted?"

"But he's finished now!" I say indignantly. "Look!" Mr Yagami looks cautiously into the room. Light is tapping frantically away at the computer. He stares at me.

"Matsuda. I know you're interested in what's going on, but if you go in there and disturb Light you could ruin everything! Please think about these things."

"But I..." I can't think of anything to say. I swear Light was doing something! But, anyway. I guess I'm not going to achieve anything tonight.

"I'm going back to bed," I say, and walk off. I'll try again some other time.


	30. Unlikely But Possible

Matsuda

I've been trying and trying to get the computer for weeks! Well, actually it's only been 4 days. But it feels like weeks! When will Mr Yagami finally persuade Light to go to bed? How can anyone keep staying up like that? OK, I _have _noticed him drinking an excessive amount of coffee, but still! Luckily though, I haven't got caught again. I've just peeked sneakily around the corner, and when I saw Light I just went straight back to bed. But hopefully tonight will be lucky... Once again, I creep round to the room and peek around the corner. My heart sinks. Light is _still _there! He's obsessed! Crazy! This can't be good for his health. And then he turns and looks at me.

"Matsuda? What are you doing here? _Again?_" I swallow. I'll have to make up an excuse now.

"I... err... well, Light. I'm worried about you. It can't be good for your health, staying up this late every night. It's unhealthy! What are you doing now, anyway? I thought you'd got all of the files back?" Wow! Was that a good lie or what?

"I'm creating backup copies of all this data. It wouldn't surprise me if Ryuzaki had put some sort of virus on it to erase all data again. So, you're worried about _me_? Don't be. Is that why you were up here last night too? And the night before?" Eek! He'd seen me! I thought I'd got away with it! I nod, and an idea strikes me.

"Hey, Light. Making backup copies of things isn't too difficult, is it? Even I can do it. I can do all this for you if you want. You can go to bed and sleep for a while. There's no way I can mess something this simple up, and you'd be able to finally get some rest." Light gives me an odd look. He hasn't noticed my obsession with getting on the computer, has he? He seems to be thinking.

"Alright," he says slowly. My heart leaps. "Just let me do this bit quickly..." He clicks at a couple of things on the computer, then vacates the chair.

"It's all yours. Just copy and paste them onto the memory stick. Oh, and don't close any windows- I've got some important stuff open." I nod in agreement, and Light leaves the room.

"Yesss!" I say, as quietly as I can. Light peeks back into the room.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"Oh, no, no, don't worry. You just get to bed." This time, I check that Light is actually gone before I get to work. I do some files first, so he won't think I've done nothing. So... now what?

Light

He's up to something. He was desperate to get on the computer for some reason. But, what he doesn't know is that one of the windows I left open is recording everything he's doing on the computer. It will save automatically when the computer is shut down. And then I can look at it tomorrow, just to check. Not that I think Matsuda will be any threat, but it never hurts to be too careful. He _might_ find something. Unlikely, but possible. But now, maybe I should take his advice for once, and get some sleep. If I carry on like this, even I might make a fatal mistake. Again, unlikely, but possible.

Matsuda

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. I mean, what am I meant to look for? A phone number maybe, but Ryuzaki wouldn't have left them on his computer! Way too careless. But then I remember the time I walked in on them talking about this Evie... and Watari had a map up on the screen! It was... google maps! Maybe if I search the google maps history... or something. I bring up a webpage, and search for google maps. Bingo! Recently viewed. I click on one, and examine it! Yes! This is the same map, I'm sure of it! But one thing is bugging me. Wouldn't Ryuzaki or Watari have deleted something like this? But then I realise. They died. They didn't have the chance. One location is marked on the map. Isn't that the school Light's little sister goes to? Maybe Elle goes there too! Right, let's start with that school then. My first link to Elle. I'm on a roll!


	31. 116 percent

_Alright Tsarina Torment, here you go since you kept pestering me at school!_

* * *

Matsuda

Ohhh... I'm not so sure this is a good idea! But I'm here now, so I guess I'll have to carry on. I'm standing outside Elle's school, waiting for everyone to come out. I only managed to get away from Light and the others because I told them I was going shopping, and even then they gave me odd looks! Why? I mean, someone would have to go shopping for food at some point or everyone would starve! OK, so there's still a lot of food in the building. But for all they know I could have been stocking up! What if a random disaster happens and we all get stuck in the building for weeks? Like a random snowstorm... or something. _Someone _has to think of these things!

A couple of minutes later I hear a bell ring and then moments later crowds of school children come rushing out through the gates. Man, they are fast! It's like they're desperate to get out of the school for some reason! Why would that be? I wait there for a couple of minutes, carefully surveying the crowd for Elle. After a couple of minutes, I see her. She's with Sayu! But what can I do? I don't want Sayu to see me or she'll start talking to me, and I can't let her know what's going on. How can I get Elle's attention without Sayu noticing me? And will Elle even _want_ to talk to me? I cough. It's the only thing I can think of, but it works! Elle looks round and sees me. Her eyes widen. I listen carefully as she talks to Sayu.

"I've left my book behind! You carry on and I'll go back and get it then catch you up."

"Are you sure? I can come with you, or wait here if you want." Sayu replies.

"No, that's fine. You might miss the bus. Don't worry, I'll catch you up." Sayu nods, and continues walking. My heart leaps. Elle gives me a look that clearly says _stay there_ and walks off towards the school. Why can't she just come and talk to me directly? But my question is answered when Sayu comes running up to me.

"Matsuda! Hi!"

"Oh, hi!" I say, acting surprised to see her. Great. How do I get rid of her?

"What are you doing here? By the way, I can't stay for long or I might miss my bus." Agh! I need to think up a reason, fast!

"I..." I say desperately. "Umm..." Sayu looks at her watch.

"I'd better go! Sorry, Matsuda. See you some other time!" Phew! She walks off. That was a close one.

Elle

I wait until most of the crowds are gone until I go back outside to talk to Matsuda. What does he _want?_ This had better be good news. He looks up as I approach.

"Elle! Um... hi?"

"What are you here for? To tell me more bad news?" I know it's not his fault and I'm grateful to him for actually coming to tell me about L, but he's an idiot. Idiots annoy me. He looks upset.

"No, I... well. I want to help you. You want to catch Kira, right? I can help you! You can't do it on your own!" Yes, I can.

"How could _you _help me? Thank you for the offer, but I think I would work better on my own." Wait. Isn't he on the task force?

"But I'm on the task force!" Wow. Like he read my mind or something. "I can give you information! You won't be able to get this information anywhere else unless you hack the computer! And Light's security is pretty secure." Wait. Light?

"Light?" I ask casually. "Sayu's brother? I don't know. I reckon I could probably hack his system if I wanted to. But this sounds like it would be a whole lot easier. So, Light Yagami is the new L then?" Matsuda looks shocked.

"I can't tell you that!" I sigh. This idiot.

"You said you could give me information. I assume you are technically not allowed to give me any information at all. So, this is just part of that information. Besides, your reaction just told me everything anyway. Light Yagami is L. But I wonder... is Light Yagami also Kira?" I watch him closely. He steps back.

"Not you too!" So, L _did_ suspect Light as being Kira as well. That makes it 54% more likely that Light is Kira. "Your dad accused Light as well! But now, it's obvious that he's not Kira! He was really upset! All of us were really upset when Ryuzaki died! But him especially! Besides, before he died, he'd just found evidence that Light _couldn't _be Kira." Hmm. He died just after finding evidence that Light couldn't be Kira. That's suspicious. If I were Kira, I'd do pretty much the same thing. Somehow make it seem that I was definitely innocent, then kill L before he could find anything to suggest otherwise. That increases the chances of Light being Kira by an extra 13%.

"What was this evidence?" I ask.

"In the notebook, it said that names had to be written in every 13 days, or the writer would die. Light was confined for more than 13 days, and he was under constant surveillance, he didn't write anything anywhere! And he's still alive!" That hardly made any sense to me at all.

"Notebook? Is there a notebook giving rules on how Kira kills? Do you know how Kira kills?" Matsuda nods.

"There's a book- it's called a death note. It belongs to a shinigami, can you believe it? Shinigami actually exist! I've seen one!" I step back in amazement and trip over a rock, landing heavily on my backside.

"Shinigami... you mean they actually exist? I never thought anything like that could be real!" I realise then that I haven't bothered to stand up, and pull myself to my feet. To my annoyance, Matsuda laughs.

"What?" He smiles.

"Nothing. You just reminded me of someone else then." Huh.

"So anyway, more about this "death note"?" He nods, serious again.

"You write somebody's name down in it while picturing their face and they die. And you can write down how and at what time they die, and everything! You can even control their actions before they die. If you just write their name and nothing else, they die of a heart attack within 40 seconds. It's really scary..." He shivers.

"So there was a rule that names had to be written every 13 days or the writer would die? How do you know this rule was genuine? Has it been tested?" I ask, thinking fast. Sayu said that Light spent a lot of time in his room. He could easily be writing names in a notebook. So, that increases his chances of being Kira by yet another 6%... hey wait! Before I even had this conversation with Matsuda the likelihood of Light being Kira for me was already 43%... so that means now it's 116%! Maybe I need to be less generous with those percentages!


	32. Going Out

_Sorry, I've done a time skip because I had no idea what else to do!_

_..._...

Elle 

It's been 5 years since Kira murdered my father. 5 bloody years, and I've got nowhere.I suppose it's because there are limits to what I can do. The task force has also been getting nowhere (more proof that Light is Kira?), so I haven't been getting any useful information out of Matsuda, and Light seems to have vanished off the face of the planet. I've also lost contact with Sayu since we left school. I tried my best to keep one of my only links to Kira, but it just didn't work. Kira is winning. It pains me to admit it, but it's true. The whole world is beginning to accept him.

But I've hit a dead end. What can I do when I've lost my only links? I can't just let Kira win, but that's exactly what I'm doing.

Damn.

I need a plan. Well, I guess the logical thing to do would be to find Light. I could try and get in the task force! That would be extremely helpful. I flip open my mobile phone, and call Matsuda.

"Hello?"

"Matsuda. It's Elle here. Is there any way you could arrange something so that I bump into Light, sorry, _L _at some point?" That slip up was deliberate. If Light _is _Kira, which I am still certain he is, he definitely wouldn't want anyone knowing he's L. So, if anyone's listening in, I just gave them a valuable piece of information. Matsuda sighs.

"Uh... maybe. Tell you what, how about I phone you if he says he's going out, and tell you where he's going?" For God's sake.

"Can't you use your imagination a bit Matsuda? Can't you try and _make _him go out? I need to see him, soon. He might not go out voluntarily for ages." That _idiot._

"But what should I say? He's really obsessed. I'm telling you, Elle. You're barking up the wrong tree, Light _can't _be Kira! He's even worse than you!" Wait. What?

"Even worse than me? What is that supposed to mean?" I can almost sense him cringing at the other end of the phone.

"Um... don't worry. It's just, I'm not sure this is entirely healthy, this obsession with catching Kira. You should give it a break, both of you. It's... yeah. Unhealthy. I've told Light this too." I almost explode then, but remind myself to keep calm.

"Matsuda, of course this is not healthy. I am getting practically no sleep each night, spending almost all day on the computer with _no _exercise whatsoever and eating tons of sweet food. It may not be healthy, but it keeps me satisfied and it is not doing me too much harm. And as for giving it a break, I have been giving it a break for the last five years, and as a result have got no closer to getting evidence that Light is Kira. So, now I'm actually gonna get off my butt and do something. So, anyway. Can you arrange that for me?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything. I'll phone you if I manage to."

"Bye." I put the phone down. Agh, Matsuda drives me crazy! But he's my only link to Light, so I'm nice enough to him.

Matsuda

I put my phone down slowly. How should I make Light go out? I need to be subtle, or he'll get suspicious. Hmm... I know!

I run into the room.

"Light, come on, you gotta come see this! It's this coat in town, it'd suit Misa so well! It's her birthday coming up isn't it? You could get it for her!" Light's eyes remain glued to the screen.

"I'm a bit busy right now."

"Come on, you're always busy! You need to get out once in a while. It's not healthy, being cooped up indoors like this. I think you need a break. And you've gotta get something for Misa!"

"Why don't _you_ buy it for her Matsuda? I already know what I'm going to get her." Uh...

"But... um... well, _I _think it would suit her, but you know her better than me! You might disagree! And I wouldn't like to get her something that I'm not sure she'll like. Come on Light. Pleeease?" Light sighs and says nothing. I grin.

"So, I'll see you back down here in 10 minutes then we can go, OK?" Light says nothing. I run upstairs, proud of myself and find my mobile.

"Elle? It's me. We're gonna be in town in about 10 minutes, wait near the clothes shops."

"Thank you Matsuda. Are you coming with him?" I nod, then realise we're on the phone so she can't see me anyway.

"Yes."

"Then I'll have to pretend not to recognise you, OK? And you've got to do the same thing." Why?

"Why?" Elle sighs.

"Because we don't want to let Light know you've been leaking information, do we?"

"Oh! I forgot about that!" She sighs again. Great... another person who thinks I'm an idiot.

"So, we're sorted then? 10 minutes at the clothes shops. I'll see you there." She hangs up. Great! Now to go collect Light.

Light hasn't moved position since I left the room. I walk over to him.

"Light? I thought we were going out."

"Oh yeah. Well, maybe."

"Please Light! I really need your opinion!" Light sighs, then stands up.

"Ok. I'll go get my coat." Yay! I've done it! 


	33. Twisted Truth

Light

Matsuda practically drags me out of the door the second I put my coat on. Why is he being so persistent? Even he's not usually _this _bad! He's up to something. First there was the whole computer thing a few years back. I'd never got to the bottom of why he was looking at Sayu's school! I'll have to keep an eye on him.

"Come on Light! We don't want to miss the next bus!"

"To be honest, _I_ wouldn't mind," I mutter.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Matsuda yanks me through the shops, talking constantly to me. No, not _to _me. _At _me.

"I can't exactly remember what shop it was... oh look!" Maybe he's _finally_ remembered what we're actually here for. I look, but I don't see anything.

"What? I don't see anything, Matsuda."

"It's... oh! Don't worry, never mind. Forget I said anything..." Honestly, Matsuda. Now you're just making me more interested. I scan the area he had been pointing at, but I don't see anything interesting. Just a slouching, black haired girl standing in the corner eating a cake. Wait.

Is that _Elle_? I hope not. I've been avoiding her ever since I killed Ryuzaki. If she really _is _his daughter (and I have no doubts that she _is), _if she knew anything about her father at all she would be searching for Kira. And she would be a serious threat. Possibly even worse than L himself. And if she has no contact with me, there's only so much she can find out about Kira. There are limitations to what you can find out when you don't have the right sources of information. So, I've successfully been avoiding her.

"Come on Matsuda," I say quietly. "Let's go." He looks at me as if I'm crazy.

"But Light! You haven't talked to... I mean, _seen_ that coat yet!" His eyes flick to Elle. I frown. Has he got something to do with this? He did seem to shout "Light" louder than the rest of his sentence, and why would I need to talk to a coat? To my horror, Elle looks straight at us. Oh no. Matsuda! You just ruined everything!

"Light? Hello. I haven't seen you for ages. How are you?" She smiles, but it's a mocking smile. It's almost as if she's making fun of me, or is that just my imagination?

"I'm... fine. How about you?" Out of the corner of my eye, I see Matsuda punch the air in triumph. Elle glares at him. That settles it. Matsuda is up to something. Probably something involving Elle. He arranged this meeting, I'm sure of it.

"Oh, I'm alright." There is an awkward silence.

"Hi, I'm Matsuda! What's your name?" I wince. Matsuda isn't the best actor, and it's painfully obvious that he knows Elle already. I glance at him, and he looks away.

"I'm Elle. Nice to meet you, Matsuda." On the other hand, Elle is a brilliant liar. If Matsuda hadn't just given it away I might even have believed that they've never met before. It's a shame really. How did Elle end up working with an idiot like Matsuda? It could have been any of the task force, but it had to be _Matsuda. _Plus, the funny thing is he's completely convinced that I'm innocent. There's no way she'll be able to persuade him otherwise. I guess I'm safe for now.

Elle

Argh, Matsuda! You've just given _everything_ away! You idiot! So, I guess the only thing to do now is go for the direct approach. Light knows everything already. All I can do now is convince him that I don't think he's Kira anymore, and say that I want to join the task force.

"Alright, Light. I can see you've found me out already." Matsuda stares at me.

"Elle... what?" Light smirks.

"Yeah. You and Matsuda arranged this meeting, didn't you?" I nod. Matsuda makes rapid "stop" motions with his arms.

"It's OK, Matsuda. I can trust Light. I need to talk to him about something." I turn to Light. "So, anyway. I'll tell it straight. I knew who the previous L was. In fact, you probably know this already, but I'm his daughter." Matsuda stares shocked at me. He's obviously wondering if I've gone mad, spilling out one of my greatest secrets to the person who I think is Kira. But I'm only telling Light what he already knows. And sure enough, he doesn't act surprised.

"I thought so. What is all this about, Elle? You wouldn't tell me something like that without a reason. Even if you _did _know I probably knew already." I smirked. He's pretty clever, this one.

"I just wanted to know that I trust you so it would give you something to think about. Because you see, Light, I would like to join the task force. Kira killed my father. I want revenge. I want Kira caught." Light stares at me.

"I'll admit it, that wasn't what I was expecting."

"What, you didn't think I'd want revenge on Kira?" Let's just play dumb for now.

"No. I thought you were going to accuse me of being Kira and present me with some infallible proof." I laugh.

"Got you worried there didn't I? So, what infallible proof would this be, Kira? Nah, not really. I know you can't possibly be Kira. So, I would like to help get the real Kira caught. What d'you say?"

...

_I know I took ages getting this chapter up... just a quick note to say, don't expect any chapters from me for a looong time. Because I've got exams soon! :O And I'm busy revising. _


	34. Task Force

Light

She's got me backed into a corner now. I have to say yes. Because if it's really true that she doesn't think I'm Kira anymore, refusing will make her suspicious again. But if she does join, then there's a higher chance of her finding something out. Damn. I'll have to think of something quick.

"You really want to join, don't you?" She nods.

"I want to find out who Kira is."

"Well, I can't see any reason why you can't join." I'll just keep an eye on you and if you start giving me trouble I'll kill you. "But I need to discuss it with the task force first. Would you be happy for me to tell them who you are?"

"If it means I can catch Kira." Determined, aren't you? Well you're not gonna catch me.

"Ok. I'll discuss it with them when I get back. If you give me your phone number I can call you after I've talked to them." She removes her mobile from her pockets and promptly drops it.

"Damn phones!" she mutters as she picks it up. I smile.

"You don't seem to take much care of your phone." There's a great big crack down the screen and the keypad seems to be falling off.

"Hmm. Anyway." She gives me her number. Matsuda, who had been staring open mouthed at us for the entire conversation, butts in.

"I'm happy for Elle to join!" I sigh. I have a feeling today is going to be a long day.

"Hey everyone!" Matsuda yells. "Guess what? There might be someone new joining the task force!" Everyone ignores him and he looks crestfallen. Ah, Matsuda. I actually feel sorry for you sometimes.

"Did you hear Matsuda? I've found somebody who could probably be... helpful... with the Kira investigation." Everyone actually _listens _at that.

"Really, Light? Are you sure they can be trusted?"

"Who is it?" I smile.

"Oh, she can definitely be trusted. She wants to catch Kira at all costs. Bet you didn't know this before. Ryuzaki had a daughter." Instant shock.

"Ryuzaki!?"

"How do you know she's not pretending to be his daughter?" I laugh.

"You haven't seen her yet. Once you see her, you'll know."

"Is she a genius too?" asks Mogi. I nod. "In that case, I'm in. If she's definitely Ryuzaki's daughter, she'll be dedicated to catching Kira and if she's a genius, extra mind power always helps." Everyone else nods in agreement. I suppose that means that Elle will be joining.

"OK. Her name's Elle..."

"Appropriate," mutters Aizawa. I ignore him.

"I'll just go and phone her and tell her where to come. That OK with everyone?"

"It's OK people, I've met her, she's really nice!" babbles Matsuda, but he's glared at so he shuts up pretty quickly. I walk out of the room and prepare to phone Elle.

Elle

"Hi," I mutter through a mouthful of chocolate. Evie sighs.

"Elle. I know this is a stupid question, but have you actually got _anywhere_ with catching Kira?"

"Much as I hate to admit it, no. But I should hopefully be receiving a phone call..." my phone rings, "Round about now. Two seconds..." I answer. As I had hoped, it was Light.

"Elle? They're OK with it." He gave me directions to get to the headquarters.

"Mm hmm? OK, I'll be there as soon as I've finished this chocolate bar. See you soon. Bye." I put the phone down.

"Where are you going?"

"I've joined the task force."

"What?!"

"Don't worry. It's all to help catch Kira." She looks furtive.

"But if _you _haven't got anywhere in five years... what makes you think they'll be any help?" I shrug.

"They might be, they might not. It won't do any harm." _Unless Light Yagami decides I'm a threat._

"Oh, for God's sake." I stare at her.

"What?"

"You haven't got anywhere in five years! Five years! The only reason I let you go after Kira in the first place is because I thought you could catch him on your own! Get revenge for both of us! And you haven't got anywhere! You don't need _their_ help."

"Well, there's a limited amount of stuff I can actually achieve here!" I snapped. "I need equipment, access to secure information... well OK, I guess I could hack it, but still. And sometimes you need more than one person on a case!" She smirks.

"I've been wanting to say this ever since you decided to go after Kira."

"Wanting to say what?"

"Well. If you need someone else, how about me? I've had special training. I'm perfectly capable. The only reason I didn't volunteer before was because I thought that you would prefer to catch him on your own. But if you want help, you don't need the task force. You've got me. And... I have contacts in the task force." I have to say, that was not what I was expecting.

"You want to help me?"

"Of course I do! We both want to catch Kira for the same reason, right?"

"Right..."

"And it won't do any harm."

"Right... OK. So now what?"

"How about you tell me everything that you've found out. Then we can discuss what the best situation with the task force would be." Seems like a good idea to me.

"OK."

* * *

_Yeah, I just realised that I've accidentally made Evie really annoying before. And I don't want her to be annoying, so I'm doing my best to rectify that now _


	35. Thinking

_OK, important notice here. This is the last chapter you'll be getting for a while, because I'm putting this on hold until the summer (or basically until after my exams). Sorry. But, once they're all over and done with I promise I'll regularly update until this is finished! (And if I don't you can shout at me. Or whatever you want to do.) So, yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and bye for now._

* * *

Elle

I phone Light. He picks up almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me. Listen, something just came up and I can't be there now. I need a while to think about something..."

"I guess that's OK, but... we're not making any progress here. We really need some help. Would you be able to come on another occasion?" I look at Evie. Her face is expectant. I sigh.

"I don't know, Light. Maybe. Like I said, something's just come up and I need to give the matter some thought. I'll phone back when I have made a decision."

"OK. See you later, maybe."

"Bye." Light sounded disappointed, but I know that he's only pretending. Really, I bet he's prancing around in delight. Well OK, maybe not since he's probably in a room with other people and him being delighted that I can't come to help them might look a bit suspicious. Plus it would probably be beneath his dignity.

Light

"Yes!" I punch the air in delight. Elle can't come now and by the sounds of it she might not be able to make it at all. Forgetting myself completely, I skip around the empty room in delight. This has put me in a permanent good mood. At least, a good mood until I trip over a chair and bring Mogi and Matsuda running into the room.

"Light? Are you OK? What happened?" I pull myself to my feet, scowling. That was beneath my dignity.

"I just tripped. I got a call from Elle, she says she might not be able to help out after all." Mogi scowls.

"What?! But she said she would!"

"Yeah, but I know her well enough to know she's up to something. I know she's actually just continuing to investigate Kira at her home, and I also know that she knows I know that too." Matsuda looks confused at this last sentence.

"What?" I repeat it more slowly.

"I said, _I _know that Elle is continuing the Kira investigation at home and _Elle _knows that _I _know that she's continuing the Kira investigation at home." Matsuda continues to look confused.

"Um... I'll just go think about that one." He walks off, along with Mogi who is still trying to explain what I just said to him. I sigh. Idiot.

Evie

I look at Elle.

"So, now what?" Elle shrugs.

"We come up with a plan of action? I know Light Yagami is Kira. Nothing anyone says can dissuade me from that." I sigh.

"Yes, I know, but would you mind explaining why? I might be able to help more then."

"Alright. Reason one, L thought he was Kira. Reason two, when there was that bus jacking..." I stop her.

"What bus jacking?"

"You know, that time when I was going out and then a man with a gun attacked the bus..."

"What?! You never told me about that!"

"Yes I did. Don't be ridiculous. Do you really think I wouldn't tell you if I was in danger like that?"

"Well to be honest, yes. That's exactly what I think you'd do. You don't tell me anything that happens to you." She waves my comment aside.

"Well, whatever. I was on a bus jacking. I guess I must have just forgotten about it or something." Forgotten? About that? You? Yeah right.

"Liar," I mutter. She doesn't hear, or if she does she ignores me.

"Anyway, this guy jacked the bus. Light was on the bus, he didn't seem surprised at all when the guy appeared and threatened the driver. And then, this is the weird part... the guy suddenly went crazy and started talking about a monster in the back of the bus. He even fired a few shots at it, but there was nothing there. Eventually, he ran off the bus and got hit by a car. He died. All this makes me think Light is Kira for several reasons. One, while we were on the bus, Light got this guy behind him to show him his ID. He was FBI, and I think he was following Light under L's orders. Oh, that reminds me!"

"What?" I ask.

"I need to check if he's still alive, because if he isn't..."

"Light must have killed him." I complete. Elle nods and picks up the phone.

"But you can do that later," I add hastily. Tell me about the other reasons you think Light is Kira."

"Ok, second, the "monster". At first I thought he was just on drugs or something. But I found out something very interesting from Matsuda which you might or might not believe."

"What?" This is getting really interesting.

"It's how Kira kills his victims. He writes their names in a special notebook called a death note. And the interesting bit is that a death note belongs to a shinigami, which then follows the human. And you can only see the shinigami if you touch the notebook." She looks me straight in the eye. "Light dropped a piece of paper and made it obvious. The bus jacker picked it up. And straight after he had done that, he started screaming about the monster."

"Oh..."

"Exactly." She smiles. "So, any ideas about what to do?"

"I guess the logical thing would be to try and get our hands on this "death note" to see the shinigami. But Light would know that that's the weal part of his plan. He's probably hidden it really well. So for now..." I notice Elle has pulled her knees up to her chin and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Just like L used to. L... I miss you...

"I guess we have to think."


	36. Raye Penber

_Hi again! You know what this means... This story is no longer on hold! Yay! Anyway, I've rewritten the whole story (which took AGES) and hopefully made it a bit better. I haven't changed the basic plot, but the main things I've changed are: Evie is (hopefully) not as annoying as she was, L and Elle's meeting by the sweet shop is longer, and finally Elle and Light no longer fancy eachother. And I've solved the age problem: I don't mention Elle's age anywhere now, so she can be whatever age you think is sensible :D So if you want to re read it, go ahead but if not then don't bother. Oh yeah, and there's a poll up if you want to vote in that. OK, enough of me rambling on, here's the next chapter!_

_..._

Elle

"Well, I guess the best thing to do..." I say slowly, "is to continue trying to find out if anything happened to Raye Penber. I've tried, but I can't find anything about him anywhere. Not even Matsuda seems to recognise the name."

"Matsuda should recognise the name if he was killed by Kira," says Evie. "Maybe that means nothing happened to him?"

"Hmm," I say, unconvinced. "I don't think Matsuda is the most reliable source though. You work with the police, maybe they know something about him."

"I'll ask around to see if anyone recognises the name." She picks up the phone.

"In the meantime," I murmur. "I'll check with the rest of the task force. If it's only Matsuda who can't remember..." I pick up my mobile phone and call Matsuda.

Matsuda

My phone rings. I sigh and pick it up.

"Hello?"

"It's me again, Elle. Listen, Matsuda, can you ask around to see if anyone recognises the name Raye Penber? This is important. But even more important, don't let Light know I've been asking."

"Why don't you want him to know?" I have to be careful with what I say because Light is in the room with me...

"Because he knows my name and what I look like, so if he is Kira he could easily kill me if I start asking tricky questions. Like this one. If he _is _Kira, this question will give me some vital information. If not, then it won't do any harm at all to the Kira case. Can you do this for me Matsuda?"

"Alright. I'll phone back later." I put the phone down. How can I ask around without Light knowing?

"Who was that, Matsuda?" Light asks. I pause.

"Um... just a friend." Luckily, Light lets the matter go. I sigh. Now, all I need to do is find out information for Elle.

Aizawa exits the room. I look up. This is my chance!

"I'm just going to the loo, people..." I mutter, and walk out after him. He's heading for the kitchen.

"Aizawa?" I ask quietly. "Can I ask you something?" He looks at me.

"You can ask, but there's no guarantee I'll answer."

"I need you to promise you won't tell Light."

"What is it Matsuda? If it's important for the investigation you have to tell Light. If not, I won't tell." I look around me before speaking.

"You know Elle? Well, she wants to know but she says it's crucial Light doesn't find out. Can I trust you Aizawa?"

"How do you know this "Elle" is trustworthy?"

"Kira killed her father, remember? She'll do anything to catch him. And anyway, I'll let you in on why she doesn't want Light to know if you promise absolutely not to tell no matter what I say." Aizawa thinks about it for a moment.

"Alright. This better be good, Matsuda." I lower my voice.

"She thinks Light is Kira, and she knows that he knows her name and face. So if she's right, Light could easily kill her if he knew she's asking questions which might cause trouble for him if he's Kira." Aizawa steps back.

"So that's two of them..." he mutters. I look at him, confused.

"I've been having my doubts about Light too," he whispers. "First Ryuzaki thinking he was Kira, and that was convincing enough. Now Ryuzaki's daughter..."

"I don't think Light is Kira," I say. "But I promised to help Elle. I was the one to tell her about Ryuzaki's death."

"Ouch," Aizawa winces. "That must have been nasty for her."

"Hey!" I say, but remember there's a more relevant topic here. "Anyway, do you promise not to tell Light I've been asking about this?"

"I promise."

"Do you recognise the name Raye Penber?"

"Um... it rings a bell, know I think about it. Raye Penber... yes, that's it!"

"What?" I ask eagerly. This is easier than I thought it would be.

"Don't you remember? He was one of the FBI agents killed by Kira. He was the one trailing Light who we spotted acting oddly before his death. And his fiancée killed herself after he died, which Ryuzaki said was completely out of character for her."

"I remember now! Thank you Aizawa! You've been a great help!" I run off to phone Elle and tell her the good news.

Elle

My phone rings and I pick it up straight away.

"Elle? It's me, Matsuda. I've found out who Raye Penber was!"

"Really? Tell me everything." I already know who he was, but a little reminder won't hurt.

"He was an FBI agent your dad hired to trail Light! He got killed by Kira, and a while afterwards his fiancée commited suicide. Your dad said he's worked with her in the past, and that he couldn't imagine her doing something like that."

"Really!" This is great.

"Thank you very much, Matsuda! That is exactly what I needed to know. I've got to go now. Bye." I put the phone down and run off to tell Evie what I've learnt.


	37. Kidnap

_OK, I promised to update regularly so here is my "regularly": I will update on Saturdays and Wednesdays unless I can't for some reason, in which case I'll tell you beforehand. If I don't update on a Wednesday or a Saturday, without telling you anything, it's probably my internet messing up (it's been a bit funny lately) Sound good to you? Anyway, it is a Saturday now so here's the next chapter! (Please review... I haven't had ANY reviews for the last chapter __!)_

_..._

Elle

I rush downstairs.

"Evie! I've found out about Raye Penber!" She comes rushing up to meet me.

"What have you found out?"

"He was an FBI agent who was hired by L to follow Light Yagami. We already knew that. Anyway, he was killed by Kira along with the other FBI agents following other people. But the interesting part is that before he died, he apparently displayed some odd behaviour. And on top of that, his fiancée, who L had worked with in the past, commited suicide shortly after his death. L said that she wasn't the sort of person who would do that." I finish off.

"That's brilliant! So, they focussed on the people Raye Penber was following, and that lead L to Light Yagami?" I nod.

"Yes. But they didn't see what I did. I saw Light manipulate that man into showing him his ID."

"So we're decided. Light Yagami is definitely Kira?" I nod.

"Definitely. But we have a big problem." Evie seems to realise this too, as her face falls.

"We don't have any proof, do we?" I shake my head.

"This is going to be difficult, but at least now we know who to focus on." I get a sudden idea, and once again pick up my phone.

"Who are you phoning this time?" Evie asks incredulously. I haven't used my phone this much for weeks!

"I'm just getting back in contact with an old friend of mine."

I hold my breath, hoping that the phone number is still the same as it was before. _Ring ring... ring ring..._

"Hello?" Yep, it definitely sounds like her...

"Sayu? Is that you?" A pause.

"Yes, this is Sayu. Who is this?" I let my breath out.

"Hello Sayu, it's Elle! Remember me?"

"Elle! Ohmygod, of course I remember you! I haven't spoken to you in _ages! _So, what's with the random call?"

"I saw Light in town the other day, and I remembered I hadn't talked to you in ages, so I decided to phone up and see how you were doing. I like catching up with people like that."

"Aww, Elle, that's really nice of you! Hey, I've got an idea. How about instead of just talking on the phone and wasting your credit like this, you come round here? Nobody else is at home, and I'm really bored. We can catch up with eachother face to face!" I jump to my feet. This is a perfect opportunity!

"Really Sayu? I'd love to! Thanks very much!" Sayu giggles.

"You do remember the way to our house, right?"

"Of course I do! So, I'll see you in a minute!"

"See you!" She puts the phone down. I grab my shoes and shove them on, walking towards the door.

"Wait, Elle! Where are you going?" Oops. Looks like I got a little excited there.

"I'm going to Light Yagami's house!" I grin. "Remember I was friends with his little sister?"

"Oh!" Evie grins. "Well then, you'd better go. See you later, and good luck with finding stuff."

"Bye!" I call, and leave the house.

"Hey Elle!"

"Sayu! Hi!"

"Come in! Have you had lunch?" I have to stop for a second to think about that. Breakfast, lunch and tea have ceased to exist for me. I just get through the day on constant snacking. But I'm not particularly hungry right now, so...

"Yeah, I've had some. So, how have you been?"

"I've been fine! It's got a bit boring at home though, because Light and dad are hardly ever here. At least mum's still at home a lot. I wish they would just hurry up and catch Kira already..." she sighs.

"Me too," I say, and sigh. "Never mind. He will be caught eventually."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes." We sit down on the sofa. "No matter how clever he is, there's people like... L, your brother and your dad on the case." And me, but I'm not going to say that. "It might take a while, but I'm fairly sure that eventually he'll be caught."

"I hope so." She yawns. "So, about you? What have you been doing in all this time?"

"I..." I begin, but am interrupted by a loud crash. Sayu leaps up, startled.

"What was that?" I ask.

"I don't know..." she walks out to the front door to look. And then she screams.

I jump to my feet, running the way Sayu had gone.

"Sayu?" I freeze as I see severalmen with guns pointed at Sayu. One of them points his at me. I stare at him, shocked. What the hell is going on?

"Mello? There's another one. What shall we do with her?" He calls. A blonde guy with a chocolate bar walks forwards and looks at me. He sighs and turns to the guys with guns.

"Oh, you couldn't get her at a time when she was _alone, _could you? No, you had to come in when there was _someone else in the house as well? _You're rubbish kidnappers._" _He takes a bite of the chocolate, looking very evil as he does so. "Oh well. I guess we'll just have to take her with us too. We can decide what to do with her later. Come on then, you two. You know how this goes. Come with us or I'll tell them to shoot you." Wait, we're being kidnapped? Mello snaps his gloved fingers. "Blindfolds?" He demands. Well, three guesses who's in charge here.

"We've only got one." One of the men with guns says. Mello sighs.

"Well make another one then! We can't have either of them knowing where we are going! Tear up your shirt or something, just do it _quickly! _I want this to be over as quickly as possible." One of the men reluctantly tears a strip off his shirt and hands it to me. Mello hands the other blindfold to Sayu.

"Put them on."

"Why are you kidnapping us?" I ask. Sayu is too shocked to speak.

"Never mind that, just shut up. I'll tell you when we get there. Anyway, it's not you we want, it's your friend. We'll decide what to do with you when we get there. For now, just _shut up and put the goddamn blindfold on_!" I sigh and do as he tells me, seeing as these don't seem like the sort of people who would be afraid to use their guns.

All this was meant to be was a visit to an old friend's house, and it turned into a kidnapping? How did this happen? And why would they want to kidnap Sayu anyway? It must be something to do with Kira. That's the only logical reason I can think of.

"You got any phones?" Someone asks. I shake my head, knowing that they'll look for one anyway. Sure enough, a minute later my phone is wrenched out of my pocket. I wish I'd put it somewhere less likely to get discovered now. But then again I had no idea anything like this was going to happen!

"Liar. I'll take that. Come on then, get them in the van." I gasp as someone picks me up and bundles me over their shoulder. What are they trying to achieve? A nasty thought hits me suddenly. They're only after Sayu, but they don't need me. I'm just in the way. Judging by the guns, these aren't people who would give a second thought about killing someone just because they were in the way. Does that mean they're going to kill me?


	38. Paperclips and Wallpaper

_Yeah, I know it's a Tuesday, but I'm going to be busy tomorrow so I might not get the chance to upload, and I thought I'd better be on the safe side. Thanks to Arra13375 for the idea about what to do for this chapter! I've adapted your idea a little to make it fit better, but thanks! :D_

_..._

Elle

I sigh and pace around the room we're locked in. They had removed our blindfolds, and then stuck us both in here.

"Are you OK Sayu?" I ask. I mean, we _have _just been kidnapped after all. She nods.

"Yeah... I'm alright. You?"

"Yeah..." I glance around the room, looking for a way out. There's nothing except the door, so I give that an experimental kick, knowing it won't work. It doesn't. I peer through the keyhole, trying to see what's outside, but my view is blocked. They must have left the keys in the door.

"Now this might be helpful." I say. Sayu walks over.

"What?" she asks.

"They left the keys in the door."

"But we can't get them, they're on the other side of the door." Sayu points out. I think for a moment.

"But if we're clever, we can. Do you have anything like a hair pin on you?" Sayu reaches up and feels around her head.

"No. Why?" I search my pockets and find a paperclip. I have no idea what a paperclip is doing in my pocket, but it's just what I'm looking for. I smile, and unbend it into a long thin stick. Now all I need is some paper or something.

"I need something thin enough to slide under the door..." we both look around the room. The wallpaper. I find a fold in the wallpaper, and tear a large section off. Sayu watches, confused.

"Elle, what are you trying to do?"

"You'll see," I say, grinning. Hopefully this will work otherwise I'll look like an idiot. I slide the paper under the door, but leave a little on our side so I can pull it back in. Then I use the unbent paperclip to poke the keys out of the hole. It sounds like Sayu has clocked on to what I'm doing, as she suddenly laughs. I hear a jingle as the keys hit the floor (or hopefully the paper). Then, holding my breath in anticipation, I pull the paper back under the door. The keys come with it.

"Elle, that's brilliant!" Sayu says. I pick the keys off the paper and smile.

"Bingo. So, let's go."

"How are we going to get out of the building without getting caught though?"

"Well to tell the truth, we don't." Sayu stares at me.

"So what was the point of getting the keys?" She asks.

"Attention. If we start walking around the building, they're bound to notice us, and then they'll want to know how we got out. They'll be bound to talk to us if we do this. Then we can get information out of them about why they were after you. And," I say, grinning, "There's always a 1.2% chance we'll make it out without being noticed if we're sneaky. Basically even if we do get caught, we won't be in any worse situation than we were before."

"I guess..." Sayu sighs. "Well, let's go then."

We only manage to make it to the end of the corridor before we're discovered. To be honest, I'm slightly disappointed. I thought we'd be able to make it further. As we turn the corner, the blonde guy, Mello, literally bumps into us. He looks pretty annoyed.

"Ever heard of CCTV?" He asks. "I saw what you were doing as soon as you started. There's no point trying to escape." I shrug. I thought there might have been CCTV. It would have been pretty rubbish security if there wasn't. He pulls out a gun, and points it at us.

"Sayu Yagami, you go back to your cell. You, come with me." I assume "you" is me. I look at Sayu.

"I'll see you later, then." I say.

"Bye," Sayu says and walks back to the cell.

"So, where to now?" I ask as casually as I can.

"Just shut up and follow me. Oh, and put this on." I sigh. _Another _blindfold?

I'm guided to a chair, and sit down. Mello does not remove my blindfold. I move to take it off, but someone (I assume it was Mello) grabs my arm and stops me. Guess that's not allowed then.

"So then, what made you think you could escape using such a stupid little trick?" Mello asks.

"Well to be fair, it wouldn't have worked if someone hadn't been stupid enough to leave the keys in the door." I reply.

"Yes, I know. I will be having words. Now anyway, back to my question. Did you _actually _think your pathetic escape attempt wouldn't go unnoticed?" I shake my head.

"Of course not. I'm not stupid. I wanted to talk to you, that's all, and I figured that was the best way to get your attention."

"Why would you want to talk to us?"

"Obviously because I want to know why you kidnapped my friend and myself."

"Why should I tell you anything?" Good question.

"Well, why not? It's not as if it would do any harm." There's silence for a second, so Mello is probably considering his answer.

"True. But what if I don't _want _to tell you? I could just as easily shoot you right now."

"There's no reason for you to do that, though. It will just make my friend annoyed and she'll try harder and harder to escape. You'll gain nothing."

"Yes, but all I would lose is a very irritating prisoner who I never really wanted here in the first place. But anyway, shooting you would make a mess on the carpet. Tell me, what's your name?"

"Eryuki Mikada." I have a feeling that I probably shouldn't give him my real name.

"Eryuki Mikada?"

"Yes, that's right." Mello's silent for a moment, but I can hear a strange scratching noise. I think I was right not to tell him my real name.

"I guess you can take the blindfold off now." I remove it, blinking at the bright light. As I'd suspected, Mello is holding a pen and a black book. I almost smile. So this guy Mello has a death note?

"What's that?" I ask, feigning ignorance. Actually, scrap that. "That's a death note isn't it?" I have the satisfaction of seeing him look shocked.

"How do you know about death notes?" He asks suspiciously, then groans and glares at me. "If you know about death notes, I suppose you just gave me a fake name?" I nod, satisfied.

"Well let's just say I know things about Kira that most people don't know." Wait, now that I think about it, it's all fitting into place now...

"Light Yagami." I say bluntly. There's a flash of recognition in Mello's eyes.

"What about Light Yagami?" He asks suspiciously.

"You think he's Kira don't you? That's why you kidnapped Sayu. You're trying to catch Kira. Who _are _you?" I ask.

"Why should I tell you who I am? Yes, I am trying to catch Kira and yes, I do think Light Yagami is Kira. But anyway, who are _you? _How do you know all this? And by the way, you should still be worried because even though I don't know your real name I still have a gun and can kill you at any time I want." I yawn, just to show him I don't care.

"You know L's dead, don't you? You were involved with him somehow. Well, so was I. I was _very _involved with him. But I won't tell you any more if you keep waving that gun around. Put it away, it won't do you any good."

"It won't do _you _any good if I shoot you, so I suggest you tell me what I want to know. Who are you, and how were you involved with L?" He snaps. Temper, temper.

"If you shoot me, you'll have lost a valuable source of information about Kira. Plus you'll never find out about how I knew L, and even if I do tell you there's no guarantee you won't just shoot me anyway, so put the gun away. Put it outside the room." I say. He glares at me, obviously considering what was the best thing to do. I just hope he decides keeping me alive is worth it...

After what seems like hours but was probably only minutes, he sighs, opens the door, and places his gun on the floor outside.

"Now will you please tell me how you knew L?" He asks, almost nicely. Almost. I smile.

"Of course. I'm his daughter."


	39. Tables Turn

_I wonder how you're going to react to this chapter...?_

_..._

Mello

I glare at the girl, thinking. She's a really good liar, but why would she choose such an unbelievable lie? She must be playing around with me, deliberately getting on my nerves. Why? What's she trying to achieve here?

"Yeah, right." I say sarcastically. "Very funny. Now tell me the truth." If she carries on lying, I could always rush out and grab the gun. I swear, if she keeps messing around like this, I'll shoot her, information about Kira or no information about Kira. She's getting on my nerves.

"It's the truth. You can verify it however you wish. I am L's daughter."

"L never had a daughter."

"Who told you that?" I think for a moment. Actually, no-one, but there's no way I'll tell her that. She notices my hesitation and grins. It's then that I realise how close to the door she is. She's been edging slowly round while I was talking.

"Hey! Get away from the door!" I yell and lunge at her, but she flicks the door open and grabs my gun. She points it at me, and I stop dead.

"You shouldn't get so angry. People make stupid mistakes when they're angry, like the one you just made." That's what they keep telling me at Wammy's. Apparently I need to control my emotions more, but this girl is really pissing me off. I silently count to 10.

"That gun really doesn't mean anything if you're not prepared to use it," I say.

"What makes you think I wouldn't use it?" She asks.

"If you really are L's daughter, you'd be like Near, too pathetic to do whatever it takes to get results." She doesn't bother asking who Near is.

"I thought you said I wasn't L's daughter."

"Even if you aren't, that means you're just a typical teenage girl. And a typical teenage girl..."

BANG!

The bullet actually grazes my arm as it goes past and buries itself in the wall. I stare at her, shocked.

"A warning shot. That doesn't mean you'd be prepared to actually shoot someone." I say when I've finally found my voice. "There's a big difference between shooting _at _someone, and actually shootingsomeone."

"You know what?" She tips the gun up and holds it between her thumb and forefinger, examining it. "I don't actually know a thing about guns, or how to aim them. I just pointed it at you and pulled the trigger. I could have hit you, but luckily for you I missed. If I'd killed you, it would have been annoying but I wouldn't have actually cared." I'm not sure how much of that was true, but that bullet _did _brush my arm. Either she's a really good shot, or she's telling the truth about it being a lucky shot. And I have a funny feeling it was the latter. Much as I hate the idea, I guess I'd better co-operate.

"Alright." I say reluctantly. "What do you want?"

"First off, what were you planning to do with Sayu?"

"We were going to trade her for the task force's death note."

"Promise me she will get back to her family unharmed."

"I promise," I say reluctantly. The task force are bound to bring the notebook anyway, so that promise shouldn't be hard to keep.

"OK, good. You'd better keep that promise. Secondly, you're trying to catch Kira right?" I nod. "Well in that case, I want to help you. I was telling the truth when I said I was L's daughter. Kira killed L, and I want revenge." I've taken a leaf out of her book. While she's talking, I'm edging slowly towards the sofa. Towards my portable panic button. But when she says this, I stop in amazement. That was the last thing I'd expected.

"You want to _help? _Why would you want to help the person who kidnapped you and your friend and tried to kill you? And what makes you think I need help anyway?"

"Because otherwise you wouldn't be stooping to such low levels as kidnapping." She doesn't answer the other questions.

"I need proof that you're L's daughter first," I say. I doubt she'd shoot me for asking for proof. All I need to do is keep her talking... I slip my hand under the cushion and press the button. Now all I need to do is wait, and some tough mafia guy with a gun will come and remove this annoying girl. But do I really want her dead? She seems bright, and to tell the truth I _do _need some help. I have to admit, if she's willing to help she could be useful, especially if she's L's daughter as she claims. But she's bound to get in the way with this whole kidnap business. It's her friend that we've kidnapped, and she might do something to get in the way like release her. Maybe if there was some way of keeping her out of the way until I've made the deal and confirmed her identity? That would be ideal, but how could I make that work?

Elle

"I'll leave that to you to get proof." I say. "You can keep me here until you've proved my identity. Then..." The door bangs open and Mello smiles as a gun is pressed to my head.

"Put that gun down, girl." I drop the gun. Bugger. Looks like Mello had reinforcements. Mello pulls out a button from under the cushion.

"Panic button. Useful little thing. So now the question is, what shall I do with you?" If he tells that guy to shoot me, that's it. I won't be able to do anything.

"So, think about it. Do you want my help, or not?" I ask.

"Shut up." The guy behind me says. Stupid, stupid. I should have known Mello would try something, and I didn't even notice. Mello watches me with a smile, obviously taunting me.

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." He pulls a bar of chocolate out of his coat and takes a bite. "On one hand, you might be quite useful." His face darkens. "On the other hand, you really got on my nerves, and you tried to shoot me. Plus if I keep you round here, you'll probably try to release your friend before I wish. I'm really not sure." He thinks for a moment, chewing on his chocolate. Then he obviously makes a decision. He walks up to the guy behind me, and whispers something to him. He doesn't want me to hear. That means he's probably...

Something hits me hard on the back of the head and everything goes black.

Mello

The girl crumples to the floor unconscious as the mafia guy cracks her on the head with his gun. I smile and pull out my mobile phone. She can still be useful to me. I dial a number, and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello Matt. It's me. Listen, I need you to help me out. There's someone I'd like you to look after for a while..."

...

_Ah, crap. Just noticed a small mistake I made. Oh well, never mind. It's only a little one and won't make any difference. It's just a bit... stupid if you notice it._


	40. Diediedie

Elle

My head hurts. I groan and sit up, putting a hand to the sore spot. I realise with surprise that there's a bandage there. Not very well tied, as it falls off almost straight away, but a bandage nonetheless. My head suddenly twinges with pain.

"Ow." I think back over what happened. I'd stolen Mello's gun, but he'd called backup without me noticing. He must have told that guy to knock me out. At least he didn't decide to kill me. So the question is, where am I now? I look around. I'm in a room, larger than the room with Sayu had been and better furnished. Sayu! I hope she's OK. Mello had better keep his promise about returning her to her family. He said he was planning to trade her for the death note the task force had, and as both Light and Mr Yagami are there I can't imagine them refusing so Sayu will probably be alright but I can't help worrying about it.

I stand up, and realise that I'm on a bed. I assume the bed means I'm going to be here for a while, but where _is_ here? I notice that there's an icepack on the table and pick it up. It's still cold, so I place it to my throbbing head, sighing with relief as the cold begins to numb the pain. Now to try to get out. I walk to the door, and try to open it. Locked, as I'd expected. There's no keyhole either, so I can't pull the paperclip trick again. I lie down on the floor and peer under the door. All I can see is more carpet, so I get up. Looks like I'm not going to be able to find out where I am unless I get out. But I can't get out, or can I? I look again at the door handle, trying to figure out what kind of lock it is. There's a screw directly under the handle, so I assume it must be one where you turn a knob on the other side to lock and unlock it. If I had something like a screwdriver or a ruler, I could probably turn the screw to unlock the door. I search the room, but find nothing. I attempt to turn the screw with my fingernail, but that doesn't do anything except break my nail. I chew on the broken nail, annoyed. So now what?

In the end, I decide to look for cameras. If there are cameras in here, it would be good to find out any blind spots they have. I start with the walls, looking carefully at each spot of the wall. No cameras there as far as I can see. There's a mirror on the wall, so I take that down and put it on the floor, searching the back of it for any bugs. No bugs. I replace the mirror on the wall carefully and continue my search. There's another reason I'm looking for cameras too. If there _are_ cameras, that means Mello's probably watching me right now. I doubt he'd like me looking for cameras, so he might come down to stop me. Maybe I can grill him for more information, or run out past him when he comes in. Maybe. But it doesn't look as if there are any cameras in here. I sit down in a chair, tired. Maybe I should concentrate my effort on finding something to get that lock open after all. I didn't find anything before, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything. I look under the bed. Nothing. Something falls out of my pocket, and I pick it up. A coin. Would that work? I walk to the door and try turning the screw with it, but the edge of the coin is too thick to fit in the screw. I need a thinner coin. I empty out my pockets, and look at the coins I have. I pick the one with the thinnest edge, and try again. It fits in, but the screw doesn't budge when I try to turn it. Why not? It should work. I stand there, puzzled for a minute. Then I laugh. I'm turning the coin the wrong way. I twist it the other way, and hear a click. I stand there for a moment, and laugh. It worked. I grasp the handle and open the door.

So now I'm out of the room. I consider my options. I don't really want to escape the building, because Mello could prove valuable help in catching Kira if he agrees to my help, but now that I'm out what should I do? Maybe I should find Mello and tell him that he can't keep me locked up, but that might not be the best idea. My stomach rumbles, and I decide. I'll go find the kitchen. I climb the stairs and when I reach the top I realise that wherever I am now, I'm not in the same building as I was before. I'm somewhere else completely. I guess Mello wanted to keep me out of the way while he traded Sayu, so he sent me somewhere else. That probably means that Mello isn't here, and somebody else is instead. I suppose I'll meet them soon enough. There are two doors. I pick one at random and open it quietly.

"Agh! No, die! Die! Diediediediedie!" I leap backwards. What the hell was that? Did someone see me? Cautiously, I poke my head into the room, and almost laugh.

A guy is sitting on the sofa, smoking and mashing furiously at his game controller. On the screen, a character is being swamped by zombies. Just a video game, that's all. On the other side of the room is a door, slightly open. I can see a fridge, so that must mean it's the kitchen. But to get to the kitchen, I'll have to go past this guy here... I look cautiously at him. He looks so engrossed in his game he probably wouldn't notice world war 3 breaking out right behind him, and I'm gonna get caught at some point anyway so I may as well go for it. I creep into the room and sneak behind the sofa as quietly as I can towards the door on the other side of the room. He doesn't see me. I scuttle sneakily towards the door.

"Ah, damn." Says the guy. I look at the screen. _Game over _is displayed in large red letters. Uh oh. He might stop playing now. I try to tiptoe faster behind the sofa. _Play again? _The screen reads. _Please choose yes, please choose yes!_ I beg silently. He considers it for a second, and I take the chance to run past him into the other room. He obviously hears something though, as his head whips round. He sees me standing there straight away.

"Hey! What? How did you get out?" Ah. Busted.

...

_Looks like Elle's something of an escape artist... they should sell Elle-proof locks in the shops, really. That would make things a whole lot easier for Matt and Mello. _


	41. Chocolate

Elle

"I got hungry," I say, opening the fridge. The guy stares at me as if I'm crazy. _He's _the crazy one, with goggles like that! "Nice goggles, by the way." I add, and look in the fridge. Wow! How much chocolate does this guy have? I take a bar out.

"Thanks... hey! Don't touch that chocolate!"

"Why not? There's plenty of it." I ask.

"It's not my chocolate to give you! It's Mello's, and he'll kill me if I let you eat it. And anyway, how did you get out?"

"Through the door." I remove the wrapper of the chocolate, but the guy rushes forwards and grabs it from me.

"Hey! It was only one bar of chocolate!" I complain. "I'm really hungry, that's the least you could give me, and Mello probably wouldn't even notice."

"He would. Mello counts his chocolate bars! I'm not even kidding," he adds at my incredulous look. "If even one bar is missing, he'll know! And then he'll think _I've_ eaten it."

"So tell him it was me. I don't mind taking the blame for something I did."

"But that would mean admitting you got out!"

"So Mello told you not to let me out? Why does he still want me kept prisoner when I've made it clear all I want to do is help?" I ask. The guy shrugs.

"All Mello said was to look after you and keep you relatively comfortable but not to let you out. I have no idea what's going on, I'm just doing what Mello asked. I'm Matt by the way."

"I'm Eryuki." I reply.

"No you're not. That's another thing Mello told me, you won't tell anyone your real name."

"Well I'm betting your name isn't really Matt. Not that I'm interested in the slightest."

"Yeah, my name's not Matt. So what?" I shrug.

"My name's not Eryuki. So what? So anyway, if I can't eat the chocolate, what _can _I eat?"

"How about you go back downstairs and I bring you something?"

"No. It's boring down there."

"Well I'll bring you something to do as well."

"No! I've only just got out. Why would I bother escaping if I wanted to stay down there?"

"Because you were hungry. You said so."

"That still doesn't mean I want to stay down there."

"How about if I ask nicely? Please go back down."

"I'll say no nicely. No thank you."

"You're a pain in the neck."

"No, I just don't see any reason why I should go back. Mello wants me to help him catch Kira, and I can't exactly do anything if I'm locked away in some basement. Maybe you should explain that to him next time you see him."

"He said something about needing to confirm your identity or something. But anyway, what could I do to make you go back down there?" I think for a minute.

"I'd go back down there if you kept the door unlocked when you left." Not that I need it to be unlocked.

"No, really. What can I do that will make you stay down there?"

"You could knock me out and take away my instrument of escape. That worked before. But I don't think you'll do that."

"Oh really? I've knocked someone out before, you know. Several people, actually."

"I'm sure you have. On a video game, that is. Anyway, even if you knock me out I doubt you'll be able to find out what I escaped with. It's not exactly obvious."

"I can guess from the type of lock it is. You somehow turned the screw from the inside so you must have used something flat. All I have to do is look in your pockets and remove everything flat." Huh.

"What if I left it downstairs?"

"I'll be looking down there too, so please get back downstairs or I'll knock you out and take you down there." Is he serious? Only one way to find out.

"No."

"Fine then." He grabs his game controller and lifts it. I've never seen a game controller looking so threatening before.

"OK, OK. I believe you. I'll go." He looks like he's serious, and I've already got a headache from being knocked out once. I don't need another one. I turn round and go back down the stairs, Matt following me every step of the way. I enter my room and turn around.

"Something to eat, and something to do, remember? Otherwise I might come out here and bother you again."

"Alright, alright!"

"And make sure it's something sweet. I don't like things if they aren't nice and sweet."

"OK! I've already said I'll do it!"

"Alright then." I sit down on the bed as he locks the door. Now I have to wait for him to come back.

About five minutes later, he comes back with several packets of chocolate biscuits and a jigsaw.

"This good enough for you?" He asks.

"Yeah, I guess. It'll keep me occupied for a while. Could you bring me a cake next time?"

"Hey! I'm meant to be the one in charge here! Don't tell me what to bring you!"

"I'm not. I'm only asking."

"Well anyway, I might bring a cake, I might not." He leaves, locking the door behind him. I shrug and start on the biscuits. After I've eaten about 7 I take a look at the jigsaw. It's an odd design, plain white but there are some pieces with black bits on. I join them together to make a gothic letter L. I sit up with a jolt. So Matt was involved with L somehow too!

I'll have to ask him about that when he comes back. But, then again, who said I had to wait until he came back? I remove the coin from my pocket and turn the screw. I open the door and jump backwards in shock. Matt is standing right outside. He grins, and looks at my hand. I clench it quickly, obscuring the coin. He wanted to see how I got out! I slip the coin into my pocket, careful not to let him see.

"Nice try," I smirk. "By the way, that jigsaw. You were involved with L?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Can I ask how?"

"You could but I'm not gonna answer. That is, not unless you give me whatever it was that you used to get out and go back in there." I consider. Is my freedom around the house really worth this information? But then again...

"Alright." I pull a coin out of my pocket and hand it to him.

"Thank you. OK. So, me and Mello both went to this place called Wammy's. It was a special orphanage, or something like that. Anyway, basically they were training everyone there to become replacements for L in case he died."

"So that's where the jigsaw came from?"

"Yeah. I nicked it off Near." Near. That name again...

"Who is Near? I heard Mello mentioning him as well."

"Someone else at Wammy's. Mello doesn't like him 'cos he's got this thing about Near always beating him or something. To be honest, I always switch off when he goes on a rant about Near. Anyway, that's part of the reason he wants to catch Kira, he wants to get him before Near and beat him for once. Does that answer your question? I hope so, 'cos I'm not telling you any more."

"Yes. Thank you, that was all I wanted to know." Obediently, I walk back into the room, and Matt locks the door behind me. I grin. He thinks now that I've given him that coin I'm trapped. He doesn't know that I actually gave him the coin that was too thick for me to use. The coin that lets me get out is right here in my pocket. I pull it out and look at it. Who would have thought a coin would be so useful?


	42. Locked In

_I'm sorry! I know it's late, and I don't really have a good excuse either. Just me being disorganised. I would have warned you last chapter that this was probably going to be late, but technically I wasn't supposed to be on the computer so I was trying to get it up before someone noticed and I didn't have time to write an author's note. The next chapter will probably be put up tomorrow, because I'm gonna be quite busy on Saturday. If I don't put it up tomorrow, it'll probably be late. So, yeah, sorry!_

_..._

Matt

I smile as I reach the checkpoint. The rest of the level should be easy enough after this. _Creak. _I frown. That's not a noise the game is supposed to make. I glace back over my shoulder without turning my head. A tuft of black hair is sticking up from behind the sofa. I sigh and pretend I haven't noticed. How on earth did she get out this time? She must have had more coins in her pocket. I'll need to convince her to give me all of them. I listen to her stealthy footsteps, no doubt heading towards the kitchen. My suspicions are confirmed when I hear the fridge door open. I pull out my gun and point it in the general direction of the fridge, without looking away from the TV screen.

"Eryuki, I know you're there. Step away from the chocolate."

"So you _did _hear me after all." She shuts the fridge door and walks to the sofa. I glance at her to make sure she hasn't stolen any of Mello's chocolate. Thankfully, she hasn't. I'll have to padlock that fridge or something.

"So you got bored again?" I ask.

"Yeah. That jigsaw was too easy." There's no way I'm going to admit to her that that jigsaw took me over a week to complete. It's a game, but it doesn't have buttons or a joystick. Therefore it's boring.

"If I give you one of my gameboys, will you go back down there?" I ask. "They're fun, and no matter how clever you are it will still take a while to complete the game."

"I'll pass, thanks. I prefer it up here. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." Great, so she's going to be difficult again?

"What?"

"Where's the phone?"

"What the... do you think I'm stupid? No way am I telling you where the phone is!" Why would she ask such a stupid question?

"Think about it. I have no idea how long I've been here. It could have been less than a day, or it could have been longer. But anyway, my mum will probably get worried if I'm gone for too long, and when she learns that Sayu got kidnapped..."

"Oh." Potential problem there. "But how can I be sure you won't just call the police?"

"How about I tell you the number, you dial it and give me the phone, and then you can do whatever to make sure I don't tell her to call the police. You've got a gun, I won't try anything funny. Anyway, I've already said. I'm on you and Mello's side here. I want Kira caught, and I'm willing to help you." I think about it. True, she probably wouldn't try anything if I was threatening her with a gun, and she does seem sincere. Plus, she's had so many opportunities to escape, but instead she's always just gone straight to the fridge...

"Alright," I say reluctantly. "I'll go get the phone. Stay here." She sits down and I go and grab my mobile phone. I return and hold it out.

"Don't you want me to tell you the number so you can dial it instead?" She asks.

"No, there's probably no point. You've had multiple opportunities to escape, I can't see why you'd try anything. But just in case..." I point my gun at her.

"Fair enough." She holds the phone so I can see the number she's dialling, and then presses it to her ear.

"Hello? It's me." There's a pause.

"Yes, I know. Things didn't exactly go as planned." Another pause.

"I'm OK though, you don't need to worry. The kidnappers are after Kira too, and I've managed to convince them to let me help them catch Kira. I'm in a good position here. I'm not really a prisoner anymore."

"Yes you are," I mutter. "At least, you're meant to be." The conversation continues, and I eventually get bored.

"Come on, hurry up and finish!" I say. Eryuki glares at me.

"Alright, gotta go now. Matt is being annoying. Bye." She hangs up.

"I'm not annoying!" I say. "You're annoying. You keep escaping."

"You keep trying to send me back downstairs! I call that annoying. By the way, do you know where _my _phone is? Or did Mello destroy it?"

"Your _mum's_ annoying!" I mutter.

"What? You've never even met my mum!"

"Never mind. Haven't you ever heard a your mum joke before? Anyway, I quite honestly have no idea where your phone is." Which is a lie, of course. I know exactly where her phone is.

"Hmm." She gives me a look that tells me she thinks I'm lying.

"Mello probably has it. I don't see any reason why he would place it in a position where you can get at it." Seriously, why did Mello think it was a good idea to leave her phone here anyway?

"Really. So that means it's here then."

"I didn't say that. Unless Mello's hidden it here without me knowing, it's not..." I frown as my phone rings. Who is it this time? I snatch it from Eryuki and look at the screen. It takes me a moment to realise that it's not my phone that's ringing, but it's my phone that's calling. She must have dialled her own number when I wasn't watching, and now her phone is ringing and she knows it's here. How embarrassing.

"So my phone _is _here after all!" She says with a grin.

"Ah, crap. You got me. Well, just because you know it's here doesn't mean you're getting it back."

"I didn't want it back. I just wanted to know where it was." Yeah right, like that's all she wanted. She's up to something.

"Hmm." I reply. "Anyway, get back downstairs."

"Do you always do everything Mello tells you to?"

"No! He just asked me very nicely to keep you imprisoned and as he's my best friend I said yes."

"Is that really the only reason you said yes?" Actually, there is another reason. Mello offered to buy me the new super smash bros game if I helped him, and I don't have any money at the moment...

"Yes, that's the only reason, so go away."

"Fine, for now." She walks out of the door. I don't bother following her. I doubt she'll go anywhere else and to be honest, I've given up trying to keep her in that room. Then I hear a scream.

"Eryuki?" I suppose I should go and check she hasn't killed herself or anything. Mello would probably be a little annoyed if I let her do that. I get up off the sofa and walk down the stairs. The basement door is wide open, but I can't see Eryuki anywhere.

"Hellooo? Eryuki?" I walk into the room. Then I realise my mistake.

The door slams shut behind me. Damn, she got me again! I hear the lock click shut.

"Eryuki! Let me out!" I yell, knowing that she won't. I hear her laughing behind the door.

"Why should I? Don't worry, I'm not going to trash your house or look through your stuff and I won't keep you here for long. I just want to check something. Nothing that will get you into trouble with Mello, I just need to make sure of one little thing. And anyway, now you can see firsthand how boring it is down here. Maybe you'll stop trying to lock me up after this." I hear footsteps. She's gone, but has she forgotten that she gave me a coin? I remove it from my pocket and try to turn the lock. The edge is too thick to fit in the screw.

"Damn!" I get the feeling she's been planning this ever since she gave me that coin. Or maybe even before that. I check my pockets, but there's nothing I can use to unlock the screw. I groan, realising that only this morning I'd emptied all the coins out of my pockets. And that's not even the worst thing.

The worst thing is that I'm locked in my own goddamn basement for who knows how long.

Without any of my cigarettes.

Without any of my video games.

I slump against the wall, silently promising never to try to lock Eryuki up again. Screw Mello, this is just cruelty of the highest level! I have nothing to do! The jigsaw catches my eye. Should I... no. I haven't sunk that low yet. Not the jigsaw.

No cigarettes... No video games...

What am I supposed to do?


	43. Stolen

Elle

I grab Matt's phone and ring my own again, following the sound to a cupboard. I open the cupboard, and there is my phone. I remove it and look at the screen. _No new messages. _I give a sigh of relief. I'm in a bit of a difficult situation here. Sayu would probably have told Light that I got kidnapped too, and also that as far as she knows I haven't left yet. But if Light finds out that I'm working with Mello and Matt to catch Kira, he can kill me easily, so I need to convince him that I'm still a prisoner. I dial his number.

"Hello? Elle, is that you?"

"Light!" I say, trying to sound as breathless as I can. "Listen, I don't have much time to talk. Has Sayu been returned to you safely?"

"Yes. She says that you got kidnapped too and as far as she knows you haven't been released. What's happening?"

"I managed to get out of the room they locked me in, and found where they hid my phone. They'll probably notice I'm gone soon and come looking for me. But anyway, they said they'll keep me alive and let me go when Kira has been caught. So don't try bargaining with them to get me back because I'm fine here. I've got to go now, I think I can hear them coming. Bye."

"Bye." I put the phone down and smile. Piece of cake. I guess I should go and let Matt out now, he's probably desperate by now. Something catches my eye and I take it out of the cupboard. Wow... that's awesome! I love it!

Matt

The door opens and I leap to my feet, running out of the door.

"Finally free! You said you weren't going to be gone for long! Do you have any idea how..." My sentence trails into nothing and I stare at her as I realise what she's wearing. It suits her. "Eryuki, do you have _any _idea how ridiculous you look in that hat?"

"I like it. Anyway, it's no more ridiculous than your goggles."

"My goggles are _not _ridiculous, they are awesome. Where did you get that hat anyway?"

"It was shoved in one of your cupboards. Anyway, I thought you might want these after your," she smirks, "_hours _of being locked up." She hands me a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Thanks!" I actually have no idea why I'm thanking her as she was the one that locked me up in the first place, but I _needed _those cigarettes. I take one and light it.

"Want one?" I ask, seeing her watching me.

"No. Smoking's bad for you."

"_Chocolate_ is bad for you."

"Smoking's worse and chocolate isn't bad for you anyway."

"Yes it is."

"A bar of dark chocolate a day can reduce your risk of heart disease by 30%."

"And rot your teeth away to nothing while it's at it. Anyway, I don't have time for this, I have a boss monster to kill. Bye." I run to my beloved playstation, leaving Eryuki on the stairs grinning. What is she grinning at?

Elle

I watch Matt run off. He didn't even make an attempt to lock me up again, so I guess this means that he's given up. So, what shall I do now? I guess I'll just explore the house a little. Now that I think about it, I've only been inside the cellar, the living room and the basement. I haven't been upstairs. I go up but there isn't really much there, only a bathroom and a bedroom. I decide to go bother Matt again. To my surprise, he's fallen asleep on the sofa and his character is just standing there while a large monster is repeatedly thumping him. He must have only just fallen asleep, as he hasn't got game over yet. I look at him, and stifle a laugh as an idea hits me. He is going to hate me when he wakes up.

Matt

The second I wake up I realise something is wrong. I just can't pinpoint exactly what it is. Never mind. I'm probably imagining it. I sit up and pick up the game controller, yawning, and then groan as I see the TV screen. _Game over. _How on earth did I manage to fall asleep in the middle of a boss fight? And I was doing so well. I guess I'll just have to start again, but maybe I should get something to eat first. I get up and walk to the kitchen. It's only when I see my reflection in the window that I realise what's wrong. I stand there for a second, gaping.

"Ery... Eryuki!" I yell. Whoever knew she could be so cruel?

Of all the places she could be, she's back in the basement. All those times I've tried to convince her to go back, and now she's here voluntarily. And to add insult to injury, she's stolen one of my gameboys and is playing on it. She's wearing that hat that she seems to have taken a liking to, and...

"Eryuki! Give it back!" I say.

"What, this?" she asks innocently. "Alright." She switches off the gameboy and hands it to me.

"That's not what I mean! Give me back my goggles!" She's wearing them. Coupled with the hat, it makes her look more than slightly crazy.

"What, you want your _goggles_ back? Why didn't you say so?"

"You knew what I meant," I say, glaring at her. "Now give..." the doorbell rings. I look up the stairs, then sigh and go to open the door.

It's Mello.

"Mello! Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" He snaps, gesturing at his face. He's got some horrible burns. "Things went wrong. I had to blow up the building. I'll need to stay here for a while, everyone's looking for me."

"Come in!" He goes to sit on the sofa.

"Kira knows my name. I'm safe for now though, Kira doesn't know what I look like. Unless Soichiro Yagami kills me himself, which I doubt he will, I'll be OK. But damn, he had shinigami eyes! How was I supposed to know they'd do that?"

"I'm afraid I didn't understand a word you were saying there." I say. "Look, I'll go get some burn cream for your face..."

"Don't bother. Just..." he looks at me, then blinks. "You're not wearing your goggles? That's new." I've never seen Mello looking so surprised before.

"Yeah, I..." It's then that Eryuki chooses to come in. Still wearing my goggles. Mello sees her immediately.

"You let her out?"

"No, she kept escaping. I couldn't keep her down there. Sorry. But I'm making sure she's not doing anything to mess anything up."

"Huh. Hey! _And _she's wearing your goggles! You never let _me_ wear your goggles!"

"She stole them off me..." it's embarrassing to admit it, but it has to be done.

"You weren't using them at the time!" Eryuki says.

"Yes I was! I'm always using them! That was why I was wearing them!" I stride over to her and snatch her hat. "A trade. My goggles for the hat." She glares at me.

"Give me my hat!"

"Give me my goggles!" Mello laughs.

"You let her escape and steal your goggles? Matt, that's pathetic." If he thinks _that's _pathetic, I really hope he doesn't find out about her locking me in.

"And your chocolate. Don't forget your chocolate! I stole some of that too." Eryuki adds helpfully. Mello pales.

"You let her steal _what?" _He rushes off to the fridge, no doubt to count his chocolate bars.

"Well done Eryuki. He'll be counting them every minute for weeks now. Anyway, goggles." Reluctantly, she hands them over and I give her back the hat. Mello comes back in with a chocolate bar.

"You liar, Eryuki. You didn't steal any chocolate."


	44. Chocolate Games

Elle

"Now I have," I say, and yank the chocolate bar out of Mello's hand. His eyes widen in horror.

"No!" He lunges for the chocolate, but I run out of the room. Mello races after me. Behind me, I can hear Matt laughing.

"Now you can see how she managed to steal my goggles. She's quite the kleptomaniac." I take a bite out of the chocolate whilst running, looking back over my shoulder to see Mello's reaction. I grin at him, keeping the chocolate visible between my teeth before I pull it into my mouth and eat it.

"Damn it, give me my chocolate!" He yells, and reaches in his pocket to pull out his gun.

"Don't you think that's slightly over the top?" I ask, still running.

"No! Give me the chocolate or I swear I _will_ shoot you!"

"I doubt it." I rush into the bathroom and lock the door. "You've got plenty of chocolate, why can't you just spare one little bar?" I stand well away from the door, just in case. Good thing I did. There are several bangs and thuds as Mello shoots at the door. Wow, he _really _doesn't appreciate having his chocolate stolen. I hear Matt's voice.

"Woah, Mello! Calm down! It's only chocolate! We can go get some more. It's not worth shooting up that door for."

"I've had a bad day, and I swear when that girl gets out I'm going to shoot her!"

"I won't come out then. Simple." I say. Mello shoots the door a few more times, and then stops. Maybe he's run out of ammunition.

"Eryuki, I think maybe you should give his chocolate back. He's in a really, _really _bad mood." Matt says.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, but I can't come out because he'll shoot me. He said so himself." Maybe I should give his chocolate back after all. I take one last bite, then slide it partway under the door. Almost immediately, it's yanked through with amazing speed. There's a cry of distress from the other side of the door.

"You've eaten nearly all of it! Get out here!"

"There's still over half left! And no, I don't want you to shoot me so I'm staying in here until you're gone or until I'm sure it's safe." Whoever knew somebody could get so angry over a chocolate bar? Matt speaks next.

"Eryuki, it's OK. He's used up all his ammunition, so he can't shoot you anyway. I doubt he would anyway, but that's beside the point. You can come out. And Mello, calm down a little. It's only chocolate and we can get some more." I unlock the door and step outside and look at Mello. If looks could kill...

"I should have shot you before." He snaps.

"Well, you didn't."

"Don't get your hopes up. I still might. Anyway, we need to talk about Kira. Matt, I'm going to be asking you for help a lot more from now on. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, I'm not exactly doing anything important." Matt replies.

"Eryuki. You've offered me your help. I haven't had time to check yet if you really are L's daughter, which I still doubt..." Matt interrupts.

"L's daughter? L had a daughter?"

"Yes, that's me." I say.

"Yeah right. A little hint, choose a more believable lie next time."

"It's true. Mello was going to confirm that it's true, but he hasn't had time."

"Anyway," Mello butts in. "To be honest, right now whether or not you're lying about your identity is the least of my worries. I'll admit it; I need help, so I'll accept your offer. But remember; I'm in charge. If I tell you to do something, do it. I can still shoot you if I want to."

"Bossy. What happens if I think of a better idea?"

"How about you tell me and _I_ decide if it's better?" Mello snaps. I'm not going to bother to argue with him right now.

"Whatever. Anyway, so what are we going to do now?" I ask.

"You and Matt just stay here. I don't need you just yet. First things first, I need to get that photo back from Near. I'll go and do that in a while, when I get back we'll decide what to do next. Alright?"

"Fine." I say. Mello shouldn't be gone for too long. After all, how long can it take to get one photo? Matt nods.

"Sure. Hey, Mello?"

"What?"

"Before you go, do you have time to race with me on Mario Kart?"

Mello practically explodes.

"Dammit Matt! Do you want Near to get to Kira first? I don't have time for your stupid video games. If Light Yagami gets hold of that photo, I'm dead. Get it? I'm wasting time right now talking to you. I need to go. _Now." _He rushes downstairs, and a couple of seconds later we hear the door slam. Matt looks hurt.

"Jeez, he really _was _in a bad mood. He's never refused before. At least, not that harshly."

"I'll play with you," I offer. Matt laughs.

"You? No way!"

"Why not?" I ask.

"You won't stand a chance." He turns and walks down the stairs.

"I wouldn't bet on it!" I yell after him, and follow him down the stairs. I wonder how long he'll last...

Matt sighs. He looks bored.

"Bored?" I ask.

"No." He replies around his cigarette, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Boring playing one player, isn't it?"

"No."

"Are you quite sure you don't want me to play too?"

"Agh! Nononononono!"

"You really don't want me to play that badly?" I ask, feeling slightly hurt. Then I look at the screen. He's just crashed. "Oh. Right." Then I get an idea. I wonder how competitive he is... "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working." He replies immediately. Well, that failed pretty quickly. His car swerves around a corner, and he begins to lean left, towards me.

"Hey, don't lean on me! Give me some space! It's won't help anyway."

"What?"

"Leaning like that. It won't affect the game at all."

"I can't help it. Everyone leans like that when they're playing these games."

"Really."

"Yeah, really." Something smashes into him from behind and his car flips upside down.

"Damn!"

"I bet I could do better. It looks easy."

"No you couldn't. And stop talking. You're distracting me."

"So now it's my fault you keep crashing?"

"Yes."

"You know, I'd stop talking if you let me play too." Matt sighs, and pauses the game.

"Fine, I guess. If it shuts you up." He fishes out another controller and hands it to me.

"Yess! Thanks."

"That's OK. Now, let's see how rubbish you are."

"Be embarrassing if I beat you, won't it?" I say, my competitiveness already flaring up. Matt laughs.

"You can try. Do your best!"


	45. Racing

_Hi! This is Tsarina Torment, updating because DarkAlliGator is on holiday. Because of this, until further notice, this story will now only be updated on a Wednesday (because she hasn't given me enough chapters to fill the Wednesday/Saturday updates). Also, I don't have any chapter names so… yeah._

Matt

I cross the finish line. First place, as usual. Let's see how Eryuki's doing? I look at the bottom half of the screen. She's in fourth place at the moment.

"What was all that "I'm going to beat you" all about then Eryuki?"

"Shut up. Fourth place isn't bad for the first time." A car promptly overtakes her.

"Fifth place you mean."

"Shut up." She begins to lean forwards, obviously trying to make the car go faster. I could push her now and she'd fall off the sofa and most likely come last. I toy with the idea for a minute, before deciding not to. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed. I have the difficulty set to hard, and this is her first time playing. Fifth place is actually pretty good. Plus I know that if I push her off, she'll find a way to get back at me. And I don't want my precious goggles stolen again. As I watch, she swerves neatly around the two cars in front of her, and crosses the finish line in third place. Definitely not bad.

"What was all that about I wouldn't stand a chance?" She asks.

"You didn't. At least, not against me. You managed to beat the computer, but not me."

"Well it's still pretty good for a first try. So come on then, next race..."

"Bring it." I deliberately choose the most difficult track for this race.

This time she comes second.

"I'm getting better, aren't I?"

"No, the computer's getting worse." I smile. This time, she'll come last. I will guarantee it. The race starts. I pass the most difficult part of the course, and glance down to Eryuki's half of the screen. She's nearly there. Now this will take timing. I should do it... now! I abandon the controls and grab Eryuki's hat, flinging it across the room before scooping up the controller and continuing the race.

"Hey!" She rushes to her hat, still trying to steer. It doesn't work. Her car falls down a hole.

"Damn you Matt!"

"Oops." I grin. She picks up the hat and puts it on her head while her car is replaced onto the track. By this time, I'm well ahead of Eryuki and she is almost last. I keep an eye on her, ready for any attack she might try to make on my goggles. She seems to realise that she won't be able to grab my goggles, so focuses nearly all her attention on the screen, but still keeps an eye on me to make sure I don't grab her hat again. The finish line is in sight, but there's another car right behind me. Come on, come on! I only realise that I'm leaning forwards when it's too late. Eryuki gives me a hard shove in the back.

"Ah!" I topple off the sofa, dropping the controls.

"Revenge is sweet, Matt. Just like sugar." I look up in time to see another car ram my car into a hole.

"No!" I grab the controls and stand up before realising that my cigarette has fallen out of my mouth and the carpet is smoking ominously where it landed. I bend down and pick it up hastily, ignoring the burn mark it made on the carpet and dump it on the table before returning my attention to the game. All of the other cars have crossed the finish line. It's only me and Eryuki left.

"Bring it," we both mutter. Now we're getting serious. Whichever one of us loses will come last place. Eryuki overtakes me, but I manage to ram my car into hers, slowing her down slightly. We're neck and neck now, the finish line is coming up... and then the TV screen goes black.

"Huh?" Is this a power cut or something? I turn around.

Mello is standing there with the remote control.

"OK you two, you've had your fun. I need you to do something for me now."

"MELLO!" Me and Eryuki scream. He stares at us.

"What's up with you two?"

"It was just getting exciting! We were..." I gesture at the screen before realising he probably doesn't care anyway. "Never mind."

"When did you come in anyway?" Eryuki asks.

"I came back ages ago. I can't believe neither of you noticed."

"I didn't hear you," Eryuki mutters.

"Me neither." I agree. "Did you get the photograph?" Mello nods and removes the photo from his pocket.

"I should probably burn it, just to be safe. Matt, lighter?" I hand him my cigarette lighter and watch him burn the photo. He hands it back.

"Thanks."

"So what do you want us to do?" asks Eryuki.

"I'm going to get in contact with one of the task force's people, someone called Mogi." His face twists in anger. "Apparently Near has been using me all this time, so now I'm going to return the favour. I'm going to send him to the SPK's headquarters, and let Near ask him some questions but make sure that he still has his phone on so I can get information about him."

"So what do you need us for?" Eryuki asks.

"The task force aren't as stupid as they pretend to be. They'll probably find out what I'm doing and send tails to follow Mogi. So, I want you to tail the tails. If you see anyone looking suspicious, follow them."

"Right." I say. Eryuki looks concerned.

"I've had contact with a couple of members of the task force. They might recognise me."

"Who have you had contact with?" Mello asks.

"A guy called Touta Matsuda."

"Touta Matsuda? Are you serious?" Mello smiles. "Did you know that Touta Matsuda is the new L? This is useful. So you know what he looks like?" Eryuki looks confused.

"What? No he's not."

"What would you know about that?" Mello snaps. "Do you know what he looks like?"

"Yes, but I'm telling you he's not the new L. I know the new L personally. L is Light Yagami, and Kira. Where did you hear that Matsuda was L?" Mello's face darkens.

"They must have lied to me. I didn't think they would. That was stupid of me. How certain are you that Light Yagami is L?"

"100%. I know for certain."

"You're sure that you weren't lied to?"

"Yes. I know that it's definitely true."

"Well, do you know what Light Yagami looks like?"

"Yes."

"That's good. If we manage to get the death note back we can threaten to write his name down. Is there anyone else in the task force who knows you?"

"Not that I know of. You mean you lost the death note?"

"Yes, I lost the death note. The task force raided the building and managed to get the better of me. That's why I had to blow it up."

"And why you got those burns," I comment.

"Yes. Anyway, back on task. Eryuki, if you're worried you'll be recognised then stay out of sight or cover up your face. Take your phones, and call me if the tails look like they're doing anything that might interfere. Otherwise, you don't have to do anything. Alright?" I nod my agreement, and so does Eryuki.

"Alright then. Let's go."


	46. Tailing Tails

Elle

We arrive. Mello gets out of the car and pulls out his phone.

"That guy there is Mogi," he says quietly. "So if there are any tails, they're most likely to be over there. You two see if you can find anyone, and I'll call you when I've finished and come back here. Anything suspicious, call me right away. Understand?" Matt yawns.

"Yep." He pulls out a gameboy from his coat and switches it on. Mello snatches it from him.

"You've got to actually pay attention! If you're playing on that you'll most likely miss something and mess everything up!" He snaps.

"No I won't. And even if I do, Eryuki will probably spot it."

"What if there's more than one tail? You'll have to split up, and Eryuki won't be there to spot anything you miss."

"Fine, fine." He pulls out a cigarette. "Am I allowed to smoke, or will that distract me as well?" Mello rolls his eyes.

"Eryuki, if you don't want to be recognised you might want to put this on." He pulls a huge trench coat out of the boot and hands it to me. I put it on, pulling the collar up so some of my face is obscured and pulling my hat down low so even more is covered up.

"Is this alright?" I ask. Matt laughs.

"Very dramatic. You look like the baddie out of..."

"You're fine. I doubt anyone will recognise you," Mello interrupts. "Now, go and hang around Mogi without looking suspicious. If there's anyone else there, watch them carefully. If they look like they're following Mogi, follow them. Phone me if anything happens that I should be aware of. Get it?"

"Yeah. I get it." I say. Matt nods.

"Fine by me."

"Alright then. Let's go." Mello heads to an alleyway, and Matt and I walk slowly towards Mogi.

We spot them without too much trouble. You can tell just by the way they're looking around them suspiciously that they're up to something. And by the casual way they're always keeping Mogi in sight.

"So there they are," mutters Matt. "Now we've got to do some boring standing around while Mello does all the exciting stuff."

"They can see us," I comment, watching them out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah. Let's just hang out here pretending to be antisocial teenagers with nothing better to do. Shouldn't be too difficult, most people think that anyone with a trench coat or cigarettes is antisocial. If they see us, that's all they'll think of it."

"Well to be fair, I wouldn't exactly call either of us sociable. And anyway, we _don't_ have anything better to do."

"Yeah we do. Like, finishing that race! I was about to win!"

"No you weren't. You were about to come last."

"No I wasn't. I was about to come second last, and you were about to come last."

"No, _you _were the one about to come last." Matt replies, and suddenly looks over my shoulder, narrowing his eyes. I turn around and see one of the tails uncomfortably close to us. Definitely close enough to hear everything we'd just been saying. Good thing we'd only been arguing about video games instead of talking about Mello.

The guy walks past us, glancing at me as he goes past. I glare at him beneath my hat, trying to look as antisocial as possible. I obviously do a good job of it, as he begins to walk faster, and his glance becomes slightly anxious.

"Nice one," mutters Matt. "You scared him. He's running away now, and he'll notice if we follow him."

"I was only trying to be antisocial. Anyway, he's not running away. He was going that way anyway."

"Yes, but Mello is over there. And we really don't want Mello to be seen." He sighs and pulls out his phone. "I guess this means we'd better warn him."

"No, wait. Look, he's just going over to talk to the other one. Probably to tell him that we're not a threat unless we decide to mug them."

"When did he get over there?" Matt says.

"I would guess while we were talking."

"Well we'd better stop talking then because it's distracting us. We can't let them see Mello, or he'll be caught."

"I know that. You've both said it at least 20 times already. Anyone would think I'm stupid or something. Anyway, I've got an idea. If I stay here and keep them watching me, you could sneak up and try to listen to their conversation."

"Alright, I suppose. But can't _you _be the one sneaking up on them?"

"No. They might recognise me."

"But you said only Light Yagami and Matsuda knows what you look like!"

"Yes, but I really _am _L's daughter, and have been told on more than one occasion that I look a lot like him. The people over there are from the task force, so they know both that L had a daughter, and what L looked like. They might put two and two together."

"You're not still going on about being L's daughter? Neither of us believe you, and neither of us will so there's no point."

"Don't believe me then. Just go and listen to them." Matt sighs.

"Fine, fine. I guess you have your own reasons for not wanting to be seen. Just make sure they don't notice me." He begins to walk away, and I'm left thinking about what I can do to distract them.

Matt

I creep behind the two men, sneaking a quick glance at Eryuki. She's just standing there doing nothing. So much for distracting them.

"Hey, where's the other one gone?" One of the tails asks.

"Dunno. Doesn't matter too much anyway, I walked past them and from the sounds of it, they're just kids with nothing better to do. Maybe he went home." He looks around him, and then bends in close. I creep a little closer.

"But is it me, or does that girl look a bit like Ryuzaki?" My eyes widen. Ryuzaki! All of us at Wammy's knew that Ryuzaki was one of L's aliases. I look at Eryuki. Could she be telling the truth?

"The one with the hat?"

"How many other girls can you see? Yes, the one in the hat." He squints at Eryuki.

"I can't tell from this distance, but from what I can see of her hair she looks pretty similar."

"Do you reckon it's Elle, you know, the one Light told us about? Ryuzaki's daughter?" I step backwards in shock.

So, Eryuki's real name was Elle, and she'd been telling the truth? She really _was_ L's daughter!

"I would say yes, but she phoned up Light saying she was being imprisoned, remember?"

"But maybe Mello brought her with him to make sure she didn't try anything. I mean, she already escaped once."

"Or maybe she lied to us and is working with the kidnappers." There's a short silence.

"We should probably tell Light about this when we get back."

"Yeah." That seems to be the end of their conversation, so I creep away. That was a lot more informative than I thought it would be. I sneak behind Eryuki, sorry, Elle.

"Hey, Elle!" I whisper. She turns round instinctively, and her eyes widen as she realises I called her by her real name.

"How did you find out my name?" She looks worried. "Did they recognise me?" I nod.

"Yeah. I believe you now. You're L's daughter."

"What else did they say?" She looks slightly panicked now.

"They think we're just random teenagers, but they're still going to tell Light about seeing you."

"Dammit! If they do that I'll die! I need to talk to them."

"Why will you die?" I ask, confused.

"Light is Kira. Light knows my name and what I look like, so he can kill me any time he wants. The only reason he's keeping me alive is because I've managed to convince him I don't suspect him. If he knows I'm working with you, he'll kill me because he knows that you know he's Kira. If he gets even the slightest suspicion that I'm after him, he'll kill me straight away. I'm going to go and talk to them." I think about it. Not much to think about really. Either I let her go, or she dies.

"Elle, go now. Quickly, before Mello finishes or they clear off."

"Thanks. Please don't tell Mello anything about this. You can tell him that you've found out I really _am_ L's daughter, but don't tell him my real name or the fact that I talked to them. Please?"

"I won't tell Mello anything." I feel bad keeping things from my best friend, but I can see why she wants me to. The less people know her name, the better. Plus the fact that her and Mello don't exactly get along.

"Thanks Matt. I owe you one."

"Go! Quit thanking me, just go! Before you run out of time."

Elle

I walk over to the two men. They look surprised and slightly worried.

"Don't worry. I only want to talk." I remove my hat and the trench coat.

"I told you she looked like Ryuzaki!" One of them mutters.

"My friend heard what you were talking about, and to answer your question, yes I am Elle." I say.

"We were just wondering..."

"I'll be brief," I say, cutting in. "Mello will finish what he's come for in a minute, and I would rather he didn't find out about this conversation. Anyway, my friend said that you were planning to tell Light you saw me here?" They nod.

"Don't. If you tell Light, I will die. I believe that Light is Kira, but if he knows that I think that he'll kill me straight away. If you tell Light I was here, free, I will die. That's why I called you pretending to be a prisoner."

"So you _are _working with the kidnappers! Listen. You can come back with us. Can't you see the kidnappers are doing this the wrong way? They're killing people to get to Kira."

"I wouldn't say I'm working _with_ them exactly... to be honest, I'm just using their information and doing them some favours in return. But that doesn't matter. All I need to hear is that you won't tell Light about this."

"I don't know. Light is L now, you know that. All of us trust him, but you, Ryuzaki, Near _and _Mello think he's Kira... I must admit I have some doubts myself..."

"I don't care about that. Please, even if you don't think he's Kira promise me you won't tell him anything." I can see him wrestling with his conscience.

"Alright. I won't tell Light you were here."

"Thank you." I turn and walk back to Matt, relieved.

"Glad I got all that sorted out."


	47. Cheat!

_I'm afraid not much is going to be happening in the next few chapters... sorry _

_..._

Matt

Mello stops the car.

"Right, Eryuki. I want you to go and get some chocolate for me from that shop there."

"Why me?" Elle protests. "Why don't _you _get it?"

"_You _were the one that stole my chocolate, so _you _can get me some more. Here's the money. Get as much as you can with that."

"Mello," I say, seeing Elle looking slightly suspicious, "Are you sure you trust her to get you chocolate?" Elle glares at me. Mello sighs.

"Actually, you're right. Thanks Matt. Well then, you go with her and make sure she actually gets chocolate and doesn't eat it."

"What? But I don't want to..."

"You need some more cigarettes right?" Mello interrupts.

"Yeah, but..."

"They won't let Eryuki buy cigarettes. She's too young. So you can go and buy some cigarettes and keep an eye on her whilst you're at it."

"Fine. Come on then El... Eryuki." We get out of the car and head into the shop. I mentally hit myself over the head for mentioning that to Mello. I should have just kept quiet.

"Mello is really bossy!" Elle comments.

"Yeah, he is sometimes."

"Do you always do what he tells you to?"

"Not all the time. When he's bribing me, yes."

"So he _was _bribing you! I knew it." I look at the huge crowds filling the shop and groan.

"We're going to be here for hours, and I bet Mello will just drive off and leave us to walk home." I complain. "I can't believe he's making me do this!"

"If you'd kept quiet about trusting me not to eat the chocolate, you wouldn't have had to."

"Whatever."

To be honest, I still haven't got over finding out that Elle really is L's daughter. It feels really odd. We were trained to be just like L, and here's his daughter doing what I assume is a pretty good job of it without even trying.

"Did you ever actually meet L?" I ask, curious. "I doubt you lived with him, so how did you find out he was your dad?"

"I accidentally overheard my mum talking to him on the phone."

"Accidentally? How do you _accidentally _eavesdrop?"

"It was the middle of the night. I didn't expect her to be making a private phonecall in the middle of the night. Of course, once I'd seen that she was calling someone I had to stay and see what it was all about."

"So did you ever actually meet him?" She nods.

"Twice. We bumped into eachother in the street, and I managed to ask him if he was L without anyone else knowing what I was getting at. The second time, we were both going to the same sweet shop, and there was nobody else there so that was the closest we got to having a proper conversation. But the problem is, even then I wasn't 100% certain so I didn't really talk to him properly even then. I arranged a meeting with L, just to totally make sure that he was definitely L, but he died the day before the meeting."

"Ouch," I comment.

"Yeah. I was really... pissed off. That's why I'm so desperate to find Kira. Partly because I think what he's doing is wrong, partly because I'm just interested... but mainly for revenge. Which probably isn't a good thing."

"Well, it's understandable. It's better than Mello's reason. Mello just wants to catch Kira to beat Near."

"Why do you want to catch Kira? Or are you just helping Mello out?"

"I'm just helping Mello. To be honest, I'm not really interested in Kira." It's then that I realise that we're not in the chocolate aisle. "Hey, Elle. Wrong way."

"No it's not. Mello won't notice if I buy one small cake. And anyway, you said he's just going to drive off and leave us to walk, so why shouldn't I buy something to eat on the way home?"

"You can't go spending Mello's money on cakes! He'll kill you, and then he'll kill me for letting you!"

"They hardly cost anything. He won't even notice. He didn't specify an amount of chocolate to buy, he just said "as much as you can" so he won't notice if I get one less bar. And anyway, you're being bribed to help. I consider this my bribe." She picks up a cake. I sigh in desperation.

"Fine, fine! But if Mello asks, I didn't notice."

"Sure. Now let's go get the chocolate and cigarettes."

We get quite a few odd looks from the cashier when we take our single cake, single pack of cigarettes and hundreds of bars of chocolate to the counter. I'm used to it, having been sent out many times before to buy chocolate for Mello, and Elle doesn't really seem to care. There's so much chocolate it doesn't even fit in one bag.

"Well then," I say, arms straining to hold the bag. "Let's go." Elle pauses and digs around in her own bag to find her cake. She demolishes it in three huge bites and throws the wrapper in the bin. Then she throws the receipt in the bin.

"What are you doing?"

"If Mello sees this he'll know that I bought cake. I think it's better that he doesn't know, for both of us."

"Alright, fine. Let's go." Amazingly, Mello is still waiting for us.

"What took you? You were ages!"

"There were loads of people. Here's your chocolate." Me and Elle put the bags in the boot.

"Only two bags?" Mello asks, disappointed.

"That's all we could get with the money you gave us," Elle says.

"Oh well. That'll last me another week. Let's go then."

I sit down on the sofa.

"Hey, Eryuki, want to finish that race?"

"Yeah!" She grabs a controller.

"Can I race too?" asks Mello.

"I thought you said you had better things to do than play with my stupid games!" I sigh, mock exasperated. "Alright. I guess." I hand him the last controller and the race begins.

I smile. Elle still hasn't beaten me, maybe _partially _due to my subtle yet heavy leaning on her, pushing her arm into the edge of the sofa and making it awkward for her to press the buttons. Mello scowls.

"Eryuki. You remind me of Near, which is _not _a good thing. Always coming first. You even _sit _a bit like him! It's just stupid."

"You just can't take being beaten! And I'm not first place anyway. Matt is." Elle and Mello had come a close 2nd and 3rd.

"You're right. I _can't_ take being beaten, which is why next time I'll win. Next race, Matt."

"How come you're not being stressy with Matt about him beating you?"

"Because it's a video game, and to be honest Matt will always win with them." I smile.

"Hear that Eryuki? I always win with video games."

"You weren't about to when Mello switched the TV off. You were about to come _last._"

"Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something then?" Mello asks innocently.

"You missed Matt coming last!" Elle says.

"_Really_?" Mello looks shocked.

"No! Eryuki was cheating and..."

"Cheating? So were you! You threw my hat across the room!"

"You didn't _have _to go and get it. I had no choice about falling off, because you pushed me."

"You were losing your balance anyway. I just gave you a little help." Mello laughs.

"Sounds like fun. Eryuki must have been a _big _threat if you resorted to cheating like that."

"No, I..." I give up as I realise it's hopeless. "Basically, due to cheating from both of us, me and Eryuki were racing for second last position."

"Yeah, so now you know not to cheat. For example, leaning on me like you did just then isn't a good idea."

"I wasn't leaning on you!"


	48. Bait

_Well, hi! I'm back! First things first: Tsarina Torment, thanks SO much for updating for me! Have a cyber cookie. Next, for everyone in general, sorry for not sending enough chapters for the normal updates. That was just because of me being rubbish at organising stuff, and maybe slightly due to my laziness. And finally, I'm afraid that my internet is messed up, so until it's fixed, I'm gonna give up on the twice a week updates and just update when I can. So yeah, on with the story! Oh, and I don't know why, but I didn't feel like writing in 1__st__ person so this chapter is in 3__rd__ person. _

_..._

"But Light, we can't just leave her with the kidnappers!" Light sighed. Matsuda had been pestering him ever since he had found out about Elle's kidnapping. He wondered if he should kill her now, just to shut Matsuda up. This seemed like a good idea, as he knew that if she somehow teamed up with the kidnappers she could be a real threat. He could easily make it seem like an accident. If he wrote something along the lines of _shot while trying to escape from her kidnappers _then hopefully nobody would ever suspect a thing. Hopefully. Unfortunately, it would still look suspicious, and the task force knew that Kira could kill with ways other than a heart attack. The ideal situation would be to have her at the task force with him so he could keep an eye on her, but at the moment that didn't seem very likely to happen.

"Matsuda, we've discussed this. She's not coming to any harm, and she may be able to gather information on the kidnappers while she's there."

"But that information will be useless unless we get her back!" It was a surprisingly good argument, coming from Matsuda. Light sighed.

"Alright Matsuda. We can attempt to bargain with them. But they will most likely ask for the death note back, in which case we will have to say no." He picked up the phone.

_Ring ring. _Elle looked at the screen of her phone. It was the task force.

"Mello! It's the task force. They're calling my phone, and I need you to answer it for me." Mello walked out of the kitchen, chocolate bar in mouth.

"Answer it yourself."

"You know why I can't do that. If you put it on loudspeaker, I can write down what I want you to say. Besides, you might get something useful out of the conversation."

"What, so I'll just be your mouthpiece? Get Matt to do it. I'm not saying anything _you _tell me to."

"They won't want to talk to Matt. They'll want to speak to you. And like I said, you might get something useful out of it. But you'd better be quick, it looks as if it'll stop ringing in a second." Mello glared at her, but saw the sense in the suggestion.

"Fine," he muttered, and picked up the phone, pressing the button for loudspeaker. "Hello?"

"Am I correct in thinking that I am talking to Mello?"

"Yes. And this is Light Yagami, am I correct?" There was a moment's silence on the other end. _How did he find that out?_ Light wondered.

"That's right. Anyway, down to business. When you kidnapped Sayu Yagami, there was another girl with her who you also took. Am I right?" Mello looked at Elle, who scribbled on the paper _No point denying it, but don't tell them you know I'm L's daughter. _

"Yes, there was. Is there any reason you're asking about her?"

"We were wondering when you were planning on releasing her." Elle shrugged, and Mello said smoothly "When Kira is caught, she'll be released. You see, any sooner and she might be able to tell the police or you something about us." Matt entered the room and opened his mouth to speak, but Elle shook her head violently at him and pointed at the phone.

He sat quietly down next to her, and wrote _What's happening? _

_It's the task force, _Elle wrote. Matt nodded and remained silent.

"Could you be persuaded to release her any earlier?" Light asked. "If we were to offer you something, for example?"

_Ask for something ridiculous that they'll never give you, _Elle wrote, but Mello ignored her.

"What sort of offer are you suggesting?" He asked, smiling. Matt gave him an odd look, and took the pen from Elle.

_What are you doing? We don't want them to have her back, _he wrote. Mello grabbed the pen from him and wrote _Be quiet. I know what I'm doing. _

"You can decide, and we'll consider it." Light said. Mello smiled dangerously, and wrote _Eryuki, you want them off your back, don't you? _Elle nodded, beginning to see where this was going.

"Instead of you giving us something and we return the girl, how about this? You give us the death note, ten thousand dollars, the names and faces of every member of the task force and stop investigating us, and we don't kill the girl? She obviously means something to you. How about this? I'll put down the phone and give you five minutes to decide. I will phone back in five minutes to hear your decision. If you agree, I promise to keep her safe and I won't harm her, and we can arrange for you to give it to us. If you disagree, I'll shoot her. Understand?" Before giving Light time to respond, he put the phone down.

"That should keep them busy," he said. "If Light is Kira, he'll probably try to persuade them that the death note is more important than you, and even if he doesn't then we'll have money and power."

"Everyone ends up satisfied," commented Matt. "Light will think that's another enemy out of the way and you'll have them off your back."

"That was some good thinking, Mello," Elle admitted.

"What can we do?" Aizawa asked. Everyone turned to Light. Of course he didn't show it, but inside he was celebrating. Mello was doing him a favour. All he had to do was persuade the task force to refuse his offer, and Elle would be killed with no suspicion whatsoever. Still, there was something odd. Surely Mello would know that what he had asked for was ridiculous and there was no way the task force would accept. Maybe he felt Elle was a threat to him too, but in that case why not just kill her straight away? Something was odd here.

"We could say yes, and then double cross him," Matsuda suggested eagerly. Light shook his head.

"Mello's too clever to be taken in by that. That last exchange was completely foolproof. There was no way we could have even tried something, and I can't see why he'd make this one any different." Light put his head in his hands, feigning despair. "I hate to say it, but he's got us. I don't doubt that he would kill Elle straight away if we said no. But think about what he's asking for. The names and faces of the task force, and the death note. If we gave him that, he'd probably kill _us_." There was a silence.

Light turned away and smiled. It didn't matter if Mello's offer seemed suspicious. If he managed to persuade the task force to sacrifice Elle, he could write her name in the death note a couple of days afterwards just to be sure. He would have to play this carefully though. A sudden thought hit him and he scowled. If Mello _did _keep Elle alive for whatever reason and then he killed her, Mello would know for sure that he was Kira, and would probably call the task force telling them so. It was odd enough that he knew that it was Light speaking on the phone. They had told him that Matsuda was L. Light realised that Elle must have told him. How else could he even know his name?

"We should probably ask Near about this," Ide said. "We shouldn't just rush into making a decision like this. I mean, she's only a child but there's no way we can let the kidnappers get the death note back..." Light sighed. Trust someone to mention Near. He had been hoping they wouldn't.

"I suppose," he said reluctantly. "It will be interesting to find out if he knew L had a daughter. But think about this. Doesn't it seem a little odd that Mello is asking for such unreasonable demands? He must know we'll refuse. It's almost as if he's looking for an excuse to kill her, but if so he could have just killed her straight away. There's something suspicious here, and I'm afraid to say that Elle may have joined the kidnappers."

Mello smiled.

"I didn't go to Wammy's for nothing. There's also a possible third beneficial part to this, which I'm not going to tell you."

"It doesn't matter. I've already worked it out," Elle said.

"Oh really? What is it then?"

"You know how clever Light Yagami is. It's possible that he will see something suspicious in all this and find out that you are planning to keep me alive because I'm helping you. If he does, it's likely that..." Matt's face went white.

"You're using her as bait! If he finds that out then he'll kill her!"

"In a way, yes. If she dies, then we can be sure that Light Yagami is Kira."

"And I'll be dead," Elle commented.

"Mello! You can't just... I know you don't like Elle, but you can't just set her up as bait!"

"What did you call her?" Mello asked. Matt and Elle winced.

"I was thinking about L, and how she's his daughter..."

"No you weren't. You knew her real name, and you didn't tell me?"

"Because I was worried you'd do something like this! You can't use her as bait, Mello!"

"Why not? I already have. Sorry Matt, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Besides, shouldn't it be Elle getting angry and not you? She's the one affected, after all. Why are you getting so worked up?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because I... because she's my friend, alright? You're my friend too, but I can't believe you'd do something like this."

"Matt!" Elle said. "Listen, it's alright. Light will probably work out that if he kills me Mello will know he's Kira. He probably won't do it."

"Probably isn't good enough."


	49. Stockholm's Syndrome

_Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up. For some reason I've been feeling kinda perfectionist recently, and I couldn't write anything that was good enough (I'm still not completely satisfied with this chapter, but who cares?). Yeah, I know, that's really weird but it's the truth! Oh and by the way, just in case you don't know: Stockholm's syndrome is where the kidnapper makes friends with the person they've kidnapped._

_..._

Matt

"Well what do you suggest we do then Matt?" Mello snaps. "Honestly, if you really care about Elle that much you should have said so! It's too late now." I glare at him, not looking at Elle.

"It's not too late. We can take the direct approach. We could phone back and tell them the deal's off, and Elle is helping us catch Kira."

"What good would that do?" Asks Mello angrily. "Nothing. And it would just make us look like..."

"We could also tell them that we've told Near that we have Elle helping us, and if she dies we'll tell Near. This Light Yagami must know that if that happens then Near will put the pieces together and conclude that he is Kira."

"Matt, Light knows that if he kills me Mello will know he's Kira." Elle says.

"Yes, but do you really think he'll give a damn? We know he's Kira already, and he must know we know that. But the fact is, we don't have any hard proof and even if we did we're still wanted by the police. We can't do anything, and he knows it. Besides, it'll still have the same effect. They won't come after you anymore, and you won't be in danger of being killed." Mello sighs.

"I shouldn't have even mentioned that. Fine, we'll do what Matt says." He picks up the phone. "It's been about five minutes, right?" He dials the number, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe I overreacted a little, but I can't believe even Mello would use her as bait like that.

"Mello here. There's been a change of plan. Apparently this girl can be useful to us after all. The deal's off. We won't shoot her, and in return she'll help us catch Kira. But one last thing. I suspect one of you is Kira, and I know you know her name. I'll be telling Near that I have her helping me, and if she dies it will be obvious that one of you _is _Kira."

"Any reason you've so suddenly changed your mind?" Light asks.

"My friend has gone and got Stockholm's syndrome, and is objecting to me threatening to shoot her. And also, I've found out that she's the previous L's daughter, and someone like that could prove very useful." There's laughter on the other end of the phone.

"Hey! I do _not _have Stockholm's syndrome!" I say indignantly.

"You said Elle was your... friend, didn't you?" I glare at him. I noticed that deliberate pause. Obviously he noticed my little slip up.

"Yes, but I wasn't the one who kidnapped her so that doesn't count. You're the one who kidnapped her, and you're definitely not friends."

"You kept her locked in the basement. That counts as kidnapping."

"Only because you told me to! And most of the time she wasn't even in the basement because she kept escaping!"

"I thought you didn't want Mello to know about that," says Elle cheerfully.

"Whatever." I say. Mello presses the red button and ends the conversation. He hands the phone to Elle.

"Thanks." She puts it on the table and leaves the room. Mello goes back to the kitchen without a word, obviously to get more chocolate. I look at Elle's phone. There's been one thing that's been bugging me this whole time. When she locked me in the basement, she used her phone. I know that because that hat she found was in the same cupboard as the phone. But who did she call? I check to make sure nobody's going to notice me messing around with her phone, and pick it up and take it into my room.

I select the call history, and have a look through it. The first entry is the call Mello just made to Light. The second entry is also a call to Light. I check the date. That's definitely when she locked me in. What was she up to? A horrible thought hits me. Can she be trusted? For all I know she could be spying on us for the task force. I need to know. I run downstairs and replace her phone on the table. I find Elle in the kitchen, eating sugar straight out of the sugar bowl.

"Elle! Are you trying to get diabetes or something?" Seriously, I know she likes sweet things, but eating sugar right out of the bowl?

"Are you trying to get lung cancer or something?" She demands.

"Never mind," I sigh. "Anyway, do you want to play gameboy with me?"

"Hmm..."

"What's up? You always want to play something!" Why is she acting weird? Did she spot my slip up too?

"Well... alright. I'll tell you. I may be good at racing games... but I'm no good at anything else! I keep getting game over." I laugh delightedly.

"You don't want me to beat you!"

"That's why I didn't tell you! I knew you would laugh."

"And because you're too competitive to admit you're bad at anything. Alright, we can play racing if you want, but I left the other game controller in your room. Could you go get it?"

"Why did you leave a game controller in my room?" I shrug. "Fine, I'll get it," she says reluctantly. I wait until I hear her going downstairs, and then creep behind her. She enters the room... and I slam the door shut, and lock it.

"Matt? Was that you?"

"Yeah." The lock begins to turn as she uses her coin, but I grab it and stop it from turning.

"Why have you locked me in, and when are you going to let me out?"

"I need to ask you something. I'll let you out when you've answered." She hesitates.

"You don't have to lock me in the basement to ask me something. Is this about what you said to Mello?" I smack myself on the forehead. Why did I let that slip out?

"No. I need to know something."

"Ask away."

"When you locked me in here, you called somebody. Who did you call and why?"

"I called the task force to convince them that I was still a prisoner. I didn't want Light getting suspicious. But you already knew I called the task force, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Elle... you're not spying on us, are you?"

"No! But I can see why you'd think that. Look at the duration of the call I made to Light on my phone. It's only about half a minute long. Do you really think that I would have time to tell him information in that time?"

"No... Sorry Elle. I had to be sure. I didn't want to think you were spying on us." I unlock the door and step back. Elle comes out of the room.

"Aren't you going to check?" She asks.

"I'll check later." I don't know why I'm being so untalkative, but at the moment I can't really help it. "Sorry for locking you in."

"That's alright. I probably would have done the same thing."

"Hmm." I begin to head back up the stairs.

"Matt?" I turn around.

"Yeah?" She smiles, almost shyly.

"You're my... friend too."


	50. Break In

_Hi people, again. Sorry for being a lazy bum and not updating. But anyway, a couple of things to say (again)... 1) I have my internet back, so I'll be doing once a week updates on Saturdays. And 2) to Daiichi... I quite honestly hadn't even thought about doing that! Good job noticing something that I hadn't even noticed, lol. 3) I've finally decided what happens at the end of this fanfiction, and 4) I'll stop talking before I give anything away (which I know I WILL if I keep yabbering on.)_

_..._

Mello

"Dammit Matt, where have you gone?" I mutter to myself. Maybe he's avoiding me. I probably deserve it, but I honestly had no idea he fancied Elle. If he had told me then I wouldn't have done it. I head to the last place I haven't looked: the basement.

"Matt, are you..." I stop abruptly as I see him. And Elle. Kissing! "Oh, break it up you two! Eww!" They spring apart and I laugh at the looks on their faces. Priceless. I only wish I had a camera.

"Umm..." Elle mutters and goes slightly red.

"What's up, Mello?" Matt asks brightly. His bad mood seems to have mysteriously evaporated. I wonder why.

"Well, I _was _going to suggest we work some more on trying to catch Kira. But of course, if you're busy..."

"No, no! It's fine." Elle says quickly. "What do we need to do?"

"I've had some information from Halle about two members of the task force, Mogi and Aizawa. Basically, all we're going to do is spy on them and see if we can get any information."

"Alright. Let's go."

I park the car, smirking. Better leave the lovebirds alone.

"Matt, Elle, you stay here and watch this guy. I'll follow the other one."

"Alright."

"Phone me if anything happens."

Nothing much happens for about 10 minutes. The guy I'm following isn't really doing anything worth paying attention to. I'm thinking maybe I should just go back when my phone rings.

"Matt? What is it?" I ask.

"There's this woman who looks like a kid who's gone into the building with Mogi. Elle says she knows who she is."

"Well can I talk to Elle then?"

"Alright." There's silence for a moment, then Elle speaks.

"Mello, that girl is Misa Amane, a famous model. She..." I roll my eyes.

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"I was about to finish when you interrupted. I was told by Matsuda that she was all but proved to be the second Kira. In fact, the only thing preventing her from being Kira was the 13 day rule, which we all know is fake. Now, she's Light Yagami's fiancée. We should probably focus on her."

"Okay. I think that's a good idea. Let's go back now. We can bug her house or something."

"Alright then. Bye." I get back on my motorbike. This is going to be interesting.

"Are either of you any good at breaking into places?" I ask. Matt shrugged.

"Depends on whether or not it's a video game. In a video game, I can infiltrate secure enemy bases, break into top secret vaults..."

"You know what I mean."

"You could always make a remote controlled robot and give Matt the controls," Elle suggests happily. "That would be a bit like a game."

"Ha ha. Anyway, we don't have the time, the money or the knowledge to do that. Plus, in real life you don't get super power ups or invisibility pills or whatever. Have you ever broken in anywhere, Elle?"

"I've broken _out..._ but never in."

"Well we need to get the bugs in there somehow. It shouldn't be too different from escaping. Just find a way to get past the locks, and place the bugs before they get back. Elle, you're doing it."

"I could go with her," Matt suggests. I smile.

"No. More people mean more risk. You stay here." Elle sighs.

"Fine, fine. Do you know when they're going to be out?"

"Actually, yes. I thought it was useless information at the time, but Aizawa was talking to Mogi on the phone. He mentioned going out for dinner this evening."

"That's useful. What time?" Elle said.

"I don't know. We can just wait outside until they go."

"Won't that look suspicious? Three of us hanging outside a house until the owner leaves?" I think for a second.

"You're right. OK, it'll be just Elle waiting outside then."

"But I'll have nothing to do!"

"Take one of my gameboys. They're fun," Matt offered.

"No thanks. I'm no good at them, remember? I can only do Mario kart. I'll just find something to do."

"Good good. Phone us when they leave, and when you've finished. We'll come and collect you."

"Well, this sounds like fun. What happens if I get caught?"

"Do what you did before." I smile. "Escape."

"What if I can't escape?" Now she's just being deliberately annoying. I bet she knows full well what will happen if she gets caught, and she's probably planned everything out anyway.

"Then it's your own damn fault. Besides, Mogi or Aizawa will probably recognise you and take you back to the task force or let you go or something. Anyway, how on earth would you get caught when they're all out for dinner?"

"Just asking. Alright, I'll do it."

The phone rings. Matt picks it up.

"Is that you Elle?"

"Put it on loudspeaker," I say.

"Alright." Matt presses the loudspeaker button.

"Who else would it be? They've just left the house. I'm going to wait five minutes until I'm sure they're gone and then I'll go in."

"You do that. Call us when you've finished," I say.

"Alright. Bye." I stretch out on the sofa.

"It'll probably take her about five minutes to put the bugs in and get out, so I expect her to call in about 10 minutes. If she hasn't called and 25 minutes has passed, we can go and see what the holdup is."

"That sounds about right." Matt says. "So, what do you want to do while we're waiting?" I shrug.

"Dunno." I grin. "How about we talk about you and Elle?"

"No thanks."

"You must be proud of yourself," I say teasingly.

"Yep. Very proud."

"Have fun when I left you two to watch Mogi?"

"Yep." I sigh. Matt isn't being much fun to tease.

"I'm gonna go get some chocolate, and I suppose someone should contact Near to tell him we've got Elle."

"I'll do that. Don't want you getting all worked up from talking to Near!" He grabs the phone. I walk to the fridge and open it. I blink. There's only one bar of chocolate left.

"MATT!" I yell.

"Excuse me for a second, Near." He puts the phone on the table. "What's up?"

"Your _girlfriend _has gone and stolen all of my chocolate!" I yell. "There's only this left!" I hold up the one measly chocolate bar.

"Not my fault! I don't tell her to go and steal your chocolate! I had no idea she'd been at it! Anyway, didn't you hide the sugar bowl?"

"Yes, but she was eating all the sugar!"

"You don't use sugar much though..."

"She was still eating it all!"

"Listen, I'm in the middle of a conversation with Near. When Elle gets back I'll ask her nicely to stay away from your chocolate."

"You'd better." I unwrap the last chocolate bar and bite a piece off. Matt finishes his conversation with Near, and puts the phone down. Almost immediately, it rings again. I pick it up before Matt does.

"Hello?"

"I've finished. Nothing happened, it all went perfectly." Elle says.

"Never mind that! You stole all my chocolate!"

"You hid the sugar! I was hungry!"

"Why don't you just eat toast when you're hungry like a normal person?"

"Why don't _you?"_

"Because I like chocolate better. Alright. We'll come and get you, so just wait there."

...

_Is it just me, or is this story getting kinda cheesy? Tell me honestly what your main criticism would be, so I can try and correct it!_


	51. The Mysterious Stalker Hoodie Person

Elle

I stare at the person on the other side of the road. He or she has been standing there for the past ten minutes and doesn't seem to be doing anything. Did they see me? If they did, it doesn't look like they care much. They're just... standing. I can't even see whether or not they're looking at me due to the large black hoodie they're wearing. I can't tell what they look like, or even whether they're male or female. I push the thought out of my mind. Probably just some random person with nothing to do. Even if they did see me break in, it doesn't seem like they're going to do anything about it so I should probably just ignore them. I hide behind a tree as I hear the noise of an approaching car. It might be Mello and Matt, but it might equally be Aizawa, Mogi and Misa in which case I shouldn't be seen. I peek out, and see Mello step out of the car. I emerge from my hiding place.

"Job done," I say. "Let's go."

"Not so fast! You owe me some chocolate." I sigh. I've just broken into a house for them, and all Mello cares about is his chocolate?

"I can hardly buy any here, as there aren't any shops. If you take me to a shop, I'll buy some."

"Alright. Come on then, let's get back before they return." I clamber into the car and sit down next to Matt.

"Did everything go alright?" He asked.

"Yep. There weren't any security guards, laser beams or trapdoors in the middle of the floor."

"Good to hear it! Sounds a bit boring though." I look out of the window, and out of the corner of my eye see the person in the hoodie climb into a car, start it up and follow our car. Hmm. It could still be a coincidence. Am I just being overly paranoid?

"Nobody saw you, did they?" asked Mello.

"I'm not sure. The person in the car behind us was standing outside when I got out, but he didn't seem to be doing anything. If he did see me, I'm not sure he actually cared." Mello glances into the mirror.

"Did you see what he looked like? I can't see anything because of that hoodie."

"No, I couldn't see anything either. To be honest, I'm not even sure he's a he."

"Is he following us?" asks Matt.

"Well, there's one way to find out." Mello accelerates, and turns the corner sharply. "Let's take a little detour, shall we?"

After ten minutes and lots of sharp turns, the car is still following us.

"Right. Looks like we're definitely being followed." Mello pulls the car into a car park. The other car parks too, a fair distance off but still there. "Matt and Elle, you two walk from here, but go different directions. I'll drive off in a different direction. Whoever that person decides to follow, phone the others and tell them. They can go home, and then you try to lose them."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Matt says. "But how come you get the car?"

"Because I said so!"

"I don't know the way back," I say.

"You see that supermarket over there? That's where you got my chocolate before. You know the way back from there, don't you?"

"I think so. Alright, I'll go that way then."

"I'll go round that corner," Matt says.

"Alright. We'll be able to tell immediately if he decides to follow me, because he'll stay in the car. If he follows either of you two, try and find a large crowd."

"What? At this time of night?" I ask sarcastically.

"Whatever. Just lose them somehow. Alright then, let's go." Matt and I get out of the car, and Mello drives off. We wait for a minute to check if the other car is planning on leaving. It doesn't look like it.

"Looks like we'll have to split up then," Matt says eventually.

"Shame," I sigh. "Never mind. See you later."

"Bye!" I walk off towards the supermarket, and Matt turns the corner and walks down a small street. I wait outside the car park for a minute, watching. The car door slams and the person climbs out, locking the car. They look in my direction for a second, and then turn and follow Matt down the street. I begin walking back. I'm surprised. I thought they would follow me, as the only reason I thought we were being followed was because I was seen. So why Matt? Interesting.

Matt

I sneak a glance over my shoulder. Looks like they're following me. I pull my phone out and call Elle.

"Hey, Elle. You're clear, so you can go home."

"I saw. Why do you think they're following you?"

"Don't know. I thought they were going to go after you."

"Me too. Do you think it's anyone we know?"

"I don't know. I guess it could be someone from the task force, or maybe the SPK..."

"Why would the SPK bother with us?"

"Maybe they think we've got information they want. I told Near about you, so maybe that's got something to do with it."

"But then why follow you? It doesn't make sense."

"I know... I'd better go now. Gotta find a way to lose him," I say. "Bye."

"See you back at the house." I put my phone away, and glance back over my shoulder. The stalker seems to know that I know he's following me. Maybe I should just ask.

"Hey! What do you want?" I call. My phone bleeps and I look at it. A message from a private number.

_Not much. Don't worry, I won't try to follow you back. I just want to make sure of something._

"How did you get my number? And why text me when I'm right here?" I ask. My phone rings again and I look at the message.

_I have my methods. And I'm texting instead of speaking because I don't want there to be any chance of you discovering my identity._

"So I know you then?" I say. "I might recognise your voice?" I wait for the text.

_You don't know me personally, but one of your friends does._

"Is that why you followed me instead of them? Because I don't know you?" I ask.

_No, like I said I just wanted to be sure of something. I'll answer one or two more questions within reason, then I'll follow you for a little longer and leave once I'm satisfied. _

"Alright... I know you won't answer me if I ask who you are, but remember I could always attack you and take that hood off. I might not know you, but I could describe you to Elle and Mello. Anyway, my last questions: Why only one more question, and what do you want to be sure of?"

_I can only answer one more question because I have no more credit left. I'm following you because I'm interested in you personally, but I'm not going to say why. And you could try to attack me, but I wouldn't if I were you. I have a gun. Besides, I'm satisfied now. I'll go. _I watch the person leave.

"Strange person," I mutter, loud enough for them to hear. "You're following me "because you're interested". What kind of answer is that? And I bet you're just leaving because you don't really have a gun and you're scared I'll attack you." There's a loud bang, and I nearly jump out of my skin as a hole is punched in the concrete near my feet. Looks like they do have a gun after all, and don't appreciate me making fun of them. The message is clear. _Shut up._

"Alright, alright, I believe you. Jeez. Bye then, stalker." I pull out my phone and call Elle.

"Elle? You back yet?"

"Yes, I got back a while ago. Did you get rid of that stalker?"

"Yeah... it was kinda weird though. I'll tell you about it when I get back. Is Mello there?"

"He got back before me. Do you want to speak to him?"

"No, it's fine. Just tell him I got rid of the stalker and I'm coming back."

"Alright then, see you later. Do you want me to try and convince him to come and pick you up?" I laugh.

"I doubt you'll be able to, but you can try. Thanks. See you!" I put the phone down and look around. It's late at night, but somebody might have heard that gunshot. I'd better go before anyone comes to investigate. I hurry off back home.

I explain what happened to Elle and Mello as soon as I get back.

"So he or she knows either me or Elle?" Mello asks. "Any ideas about who it could be?" Elle shakes her head.

"I can't think of anyone."

"Neither can I. And the other question is, are they on our side, the task force's or Near's? Or maybe even Kira's? We can't rule out that possibility."

"True. There might even be more than one of them." Mello sighed.

"This complicates things, but I suppose we'll just have to try and find out who they are as well as investigating Misa Amane. Hopefully, unless they do something drastic, it shouldn't affect things too much."

...

_OK, guessing time! Can anyone guess who the mysterious stalker hoodie person is? Don't worry, you __**do **__know them. It's not just a random and completely new OC that I've made up to trick people, I promise. Tell me who you think he/she is, and I'll put a poll up with all your guesses so I can see who is most suspected of being the mysterious stalker hoodie person. That's my name for him/her until I reveal his/her identity (which will be in the last chapter): The Mysterious Stalker Hoodie Person. So tell me your guess, and I'll put a poll up with all the guesses! :D_


	52. Bugs

_Poll's up now, so you can vote on that if you want. By the way, sorry if this chapter's rubbish or short or there are spelling mistakes... you get the idea. I'm pretty tired and my brain's not working too well at the moment. I need caffeine... _

_..._

Elle

"Matt and I will see if we can find any information from Misa and the others. Elle, you can see if you can find out who this stalker is." Mello says.

"Why me?" I ask. "I want to help Matt!"

"The stalker said he or she knew either you or me, but not Matt. If it's someone I know..."

"Yeah, I know. Matt would probably know them too, so it's more likely I know them. Alright, I will see what I can do. Can I have your phone, Matt? It seems like a good place to start."

"'Kay." Matt hands me his phone and I look at his inbox, reading the anonymous text messages.

"I don't suppose any of you know how to find out anonymous numbers?" I ask.

"I've already tried that, and whoever it is has made it impossible. Do you really think I'd ask you to find out who it is if I could do it myself?" Mello says.

"Alright, alright. So you're letting me do this because you can't do it? What if I'm unable to do it?"

"It won't matter too much if they don't get any important information out of us, will it?" Matt says. "They're not exactly doing anything."

"No, but we can't take the chance of them finding anything out. Besides, if they're on our side why keep their identity a secret? It doesn't make sense." Mello says. "So we can assume they're either on Kira's, Near's or the Task Force's side."

"I know. I'll have a go, but don't expect too much. There's just one thing that's bothering me, though."

"Which is?" Mello asks. He already knows, I can tell.

"You know what I'm talking about. How did they know we were going to break in? We're being watched." I flip Matt's phone over and prise the back off. I remove the battery, and smile as I see a small device attached to the SIM card. _(A/N I have no knowledge of phone bugs or where they go or what they look like, so if this description is totally inaccurate, whatever. Sorry.)_

"You knew that was there, didn't you Mello? You wanted to see how useful I am, and also double check that I'm not working with the stalker against you. If I was spying for them, I would hardly point out that they've bugged your phones."

"Yes. I needed to make sure. I checked our phones as soon as we got back, and they're all bugged, even your mobile Elle. I removed the bugs from all of them except Matt's phone."

"And then you gave it to me to check. Well, I passed." I don't voice the fact that I have a pretty good idea of who the stalker is, _and _that I don't _think _they mean us any harm. That kind of information is best kept secret at the moment, until I'm sure. I'm only about 36% certain at the moment. I need more evidence.

"Mello, don't you trust her?" Matt says.

"Unlike you, not entirely. Remember, she came out of nowhere, and has been in contact with the task force before. She could be anyone."

"Yeah, but we know she's not helping the task force! Light Yagami is leading the task force, and he's Kira! Why would Elle help the guy who she knows killed her father?" I shrug.

"It doesn't matter. Mello, you can keep an eye on me as much as you want. I can guarantee you won't find anything, because how can you find something if there's nothing to find?"

"We'll see." Mello says. "Well then, get to it. Search the house for any more bugs, and see what you can do."

"Fine," I sigh. "I get the boring job..."

"No, you get the job that will convince me you're not spying for the task force if you do it right." Mello snaps. "We're not getting _anywhere._ At this rate Near will beat us to Kira. We can't let that happen. This is the only lead we've got, so Matt and I will investigate that, while you prove that you're not spying on us. I am not coming second to Near yet again. Just this once I'm going to beat him. This is the most logical course of action." Matt and I exchange glances. Mello sounds slightly obsessed. Well, more than slightly. I knew he really wants to beat Near, but I didn't know he was this obsessed.

"Fine, fine, I'll look for the bugs. Good luck with watching them." I exit the room and begin my search.

I remove yet another bug from under the table. Whoever the stalker is, they've done a very thorough job of it. There are bugs everywhere. I enter the living room, where Matt is playing on a gameboy and apparently watching several screens.

"Busy?" I ask.

"Yeah. Now shush. This bit's difficult, don't distract me!" I ignore him.

"I thought you were watching the screens."

"I am. It's kinda boring though, so I'm playing this too. I thought you were looking for bugs?"

"Yes, but I'm almost finished."

"You know that after you're done Mello will comb the house and if he spots even one bug that you didn't find he'll accuse you of spying on us, right?" I laugh.

"Yeah. I'll just have to hope that I find them all. Is he normally that obsessed about beating Near?"

"He was to begin with, but then he calmed down a little. I don't know what's got him so worked up recently."

"Maybe it's because I beat him in that race. Maybe he wants to do better than me as well," I joke.

"Maybe. That might be part of it, but I think he's agitated because we haven't really made any progress, and from the sound of it Near's almost cracked it. It's kinda frustrating, isn't it? We know who Kira is but we don't have any proof. Like when there's a really useful item just out of reach..." he grimaced. I peek over his shoulder and watch his character leaping hopelessly at something that looks like a power up. I laugh.

"It's not funny. It's a pain in the backside. Like Kira."

"Yeah. Like Kira."

...

_Oh by the way, just a quick word of warning: I LOVE lying to people for my own entertainment. So, when I said it wasn't a random OC that I just made up, was I telling the truth? Or am I just saying this now to try and make you think it is? :P Ponder that!_


	53. Chapter 53

_All I'm going to say... is that 66% of you are wrong so far. That is all. _

_..._

Elle

"This is getting us nowhere!" Mello snaps.

"Calm down!" I say. "You stressing out won't get us anywhere either!"

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this, but it looks like there's no choice."

"Do what, Mello?" Matt asks suspiciously. "Maybe you _should,_ you know, calm down a little..."

"No need, Matt. No need." Mello smiles. "If I do this, I may not have beaten Near, but he still wouldn't be able to catch Kira without my help."

"Wait. You're letting _Near_ catch Kira? Why?"

"I thought you hated Near," I add.

"I do hate Near. But this way, he'll know that without my help he couldn't have done it."

"So what _are_ you going to do?"

"I'll tell you later. For now, all you need to know is what you need to do. Matt, I need you to distract the police for me, Elle... I'm not sure what you should do. Keep an eye on Matt and tell me if anything goes wrong."

"Right." I say.

"Mello... what are you planning?" Matt asks quietly. "You've been acting odd."

"You'll find out. After you've done that, go to the SPK's headquarters. Tell them I sent you." I glance at Matt. Something's off here. Mello's not telling us everything, and it doesn't look like he's planning to either.

I sit in the car with Matt and Mello. Neither of them are talking.

"Isn't that Kiyomi Takada?" I ask. "Kira's spokesperson?"

"Yeah, that's definitely her. Matt, I'm going to take the motorbike. You take the car with Elle and I'll text you when we're ready."

"Alright. Mello, please say you're not going to do what I think...?" Matt asks. What could that be? I think for a minute, and realise what Matt's talking about.

"Mello... if you do that you'll be killed." I say slowly. "Surely we can do this another way?"

"No! I don't even like you! You're not going to tell me what to do!" Mello snaps. "You've been helpful, certainly, and thank you for that. But don't even think about suggesting something else."

"Mello! Do you want to die or something? If there's another way, we should use it!" Matt yells.

"Well go on then, Elle. You tell us. What should we do?"

"I..." I break off. I can't think of anything. "We could carry on like we were doing earlier. We might find something."

"You know that's not going to happen. If we carry on like that then we won't get anywhere. I'm going now." Mello climbs out of the car and heads off.

"Mello!" Matt yells. Mello ignores him. "That... idiot! What the heck is he thinking?"

"Are you still going to do what he says?" I ask.

"I've got to. If I don't, he'll be shot by the police... all I can do is do what he says and hope that somehow, he doesn't die. I knew he was obsessed, but I didn't think he'd do something like this! I didn't know he'd be willing to basically kill himself just to beat Near."

"He might not die. We might be wrong about Takada having contact with Kira..." I say hopelessly.

"Do you really think so?" Matt asks sarcastically.

"No..." I mutter.

"Nothing to do now but wait," Matt sighs. I put my arm round him, unsure what to do.

Five minutes later, the text comes.

_Drive past Takada, and use a smoke bomb. Let everyone see your gun, and cause some panic. Make sure the police are chasing you, and try to get away. If they catch you, tell them you have information on me. Good luck._

"Looks like this is it then," says Matt and quickly texts a reply to Mello before starting up the car.

_Good luck to you too._

"Right then, let's go," Matt mutters, and picks up his gun. He dangles his hand very obviously out of the window with it. With his other hand, he fiddles with a small device and throws it out of the window. Smoke pours from the object, and people begin to panic. The police see us and begin to move towards us.

"Time to go, Matt!" I say. Matt speeds the car out of the crowded area and onto the road. The police cars follow us. I count them. There are at least six.

"How many of them _are _there?" I ask.

"Never mind how many of them there are, we just need to focus on getting away," Matt says. He spins the wheel and does a very dramatic turn into a side street. The cars follow, and Matt turns his head to look at them.

"Matt! In front of us!" I yell. Matt brakes just in time to avoid smashing into another bunch of police cars which have managed to get in front of us.

"Damn! They got us!" Matt says.

"So now what do we do?"

"I'll get out and offer them information, like Mello said. I don't think they've seen you, so stay hidden but keep an eye on things. If it looks like things are getting bad, use a smoke bomb and we'll run and leave the car. Remember what Mello said? After this, we go to Near's."

"But you're not interested in catching Kira. You don't have to go to Near."

"Yeah, but I want to help you get your revenge." Matt opens the door and gets out of the car.

"Since when are you allowed big guns like that?" Silence. No reply. I peek out of the window. There are guns. Lots of guns, all pointed at Matt. I pick up a smoke bomb, still watching. This could go either way at the moment. I look at the face of one of the policemen, and panic. I take that back. Looking at the expression he's got, he's ready to kill someone.

"Run, Matt!" I yell and throw the smoke bomb, leaping out of the car. Matt turns and runs. I run after him, hoping that we can get away. Smoke fills the area, making it difficult to see for both us and the police. I lose sight of Matt.

"Don't let them get away!" Someone shouts. Gunshots.

"Elle! Are you OK?"

"I'm alright!" I call, still running. We need to get away, and fast. More gunshots ring out. The smoke is quickly clearing, but I still can't see where I'm going. I run forwards, and find the edge of the smoke cloud.

"Matt, you still there?" I yell. I know I'm giving away my location but I don't care. There are still guns firing and as far as I can see Matt hasn't got out yet.

"Matt!" I can see a dark shape now at the edge of the smoke. Is it Matt?

"Matt?"

...

_I'm so evil. Yes, sorry, that __**is **__the end of the chapter and I've just given you a cliffhanger. Mean, aren't I? _


	54. Chapter 54

Elle

The person laughs, and I freeze. It's not Matt. The smoke has cleared nearly enough for me to see now, and I look desperately around to find him.

"Got you now." The person says, raising their gun. I run off to the left, still looking for Matt. I need to find him, fast. Then I see him, lying on the floor. There's blood everywhere.

"Shit!" I yell, running over to him. He's got to be alright... but I can already tell he's not. Before I can get any closer however, something flies over my head and begins emitting more smoke. Another smoke bomb? Someone grabs me round the waist, hoists me over their shoulder and runs in the other direction. Someone in a large black hoodie. I can't see their face because of the angle they're holding me at. _(A/N no, I'm still not telling you who they are!)_

"Let go!" I yell, and struggle like hell. "Let GO!"

"No! Because otherwise you'll just run back there and get killed!" The stalker snaps. As if to reinforce their point the gunshots and shouts start up again.

"But..." I begin, trying not to think about what's just happened.

"Don't say "what about Matt". You saw him. I'm sorry, but he's dead. You already knew that."

"How do you know?" I snap, but stop struggling. I know the person is right. "You don't know."

"You know it as well as I do. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do." Tears form in my eyes, but I blink them away.

"Will you put me down? I promise not to run back there."

"Alright. You're getting heavy anyway." The person releases me and I get a good look at their face.

"So it was you. I did wonder." I say, still trying not to cry. Matt is dead...

"Yeah. I was keeping an eye on you. Anyway, we'd better get out of here. Come with me."

I follow them down a narrow alleyway into a car park. They open the door of a car and I climb in, still shaking.

"Are you alright? You liked him, didn't you?" I nod. An awkward silence.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know..." I pull out my phone, and type in Mello's number, waiting for him to pick up.

"Eryuki? This had better be important. Now's not the best time." He's calling me Eryuki, so there must be someone else with him. Not that I care in the slightest.

"Mello, do you have any idea what you've just done?" I hiss.

"What happened _this time?"_

"Matt just... Matt died!"

"What? What happened?" Mello shouts down the phone.

"The police followed us and shot him." I snap. "I managed to get away but he didn't."

"I'm sorry... I didn't think you'd be killed, Matt..." Mello mutters, or that's what it sounds like. "Elle. If you still want to catch Kira you need to go to Near's headquarters."

"Near?" I say.

"Yes, Near. Do you know where to find him?"

"I know where Near is," says the stalker. "I can take you to him if you want."

"Yeah. Thanks Mello. Good luck."

"Good luck to you too. Tell Near that I hate him." Mello puts the phone down.

"Alright. Take me to wherever this "Near" is, please," I say.

"They're not at their headquarters at the moment, so going there won't help you. They've gone to confront Kira, in an old warehouse. I'll take you there."

"Alright. Let's go then..." I slump back in my seat and we drive off.

...

_Damn, I am a cruel and sadistic writer, so feel free to call me so..._

_The next chapter, as you may have guessed, is the final one. Sorry for the shortness of this one, and also sorry for having to endure the cliffhanger for an extra day than you were meant to. _


	55. Chapter 55

Elle

We arrive, and I step out of the car.

"It's here?" I ask.

"Yes. Are you ready?"

"Definitely. Are you going to come in too?"

"Yes, but I'll just watch. This is it, Elle. You can finally get your revenge for L and Matt."

"Finally. Alright then, let's go." We enter the building. I walk forwards, but the stalker grabs my arm.

"Wait. Look." They whisper quietly. I peek round the corner and see a black haired man with glasses watching through the door. He's holding a black book in one hand and is writing in it with the other.

"Is that a death note? He's going to kill them!" I whisper.

"Don't worry. Let him write their names down. It's all part of Near's plan. Nobody will be killed."

"Alright. If you're sure. So what should we do now?"

"We go in anyway. It doesn't matter if he sees us, he'll just write our names down with the others on the fake page. I'll wait out here for you." We walk closer. The man is so absorbed in his writing the names down that he doesn't even notice us approach.

"Delete, _delete!"_ He mutters frantically. We look at eachother and shrug. He finishes writing the names down, and laughs. It's a slightly crazed sound. Then he spots us.

"Who are you?" He asks, pen poised to write. "What are you doing here?" A voice drifts out from inside.

"Why don't you come in, Teru Mikami?" The person who I'm assuming is Teru Mikami takes one last look at us, or rather at the space above our heads, before scribbling something down in the death note.

"Delete," he mutters and enters the room. We exchange glances.

"I'm assuming that "delete" was for us," I say.

"Probably. He has the shinigami eyes, so it probably was."

"Are you sure Near's plan will work? Because if not we're both going to die in 40 seconds."

"Well, if it doesn't there's nothing we can do about it now, is there?"

"Alright then." I open the door and enter the room.

Teru Mikami is standing there, looking at his watch with a mad grin on his face.

"8, 9, 10..." Then Matsuda notices me.

"Elle! What are you doing here?" I sigh. Matsuda has just revealed my name to everyone here. But then again, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. The whole task force knows my name, and it probably won't do any harm for Near and the SPK to know it. The only one that wouldn't know is Mikami, and he has shinigami eyes so he would know it anyway.

"Hello Matsuda."

"You must be Elle." I turn round. A white haired boy is crouching on the floor, looking at me.

"Hello. You must be Near." I say.

"Who is she, Near? Can she be trusted?" A blonde woman asks.

"I am reasonably sure that she can be trusted." Near replies. I turn to watch Mikami.

"37, 38..."

"If your plan doesn't work we are all going to die," I say to Near. He looks at me.

"I know. But I am confident it will." Light laughs.

"I win, Near."

"39, 40!" Everyone's frozen for a second. Nobody collapses.

"We're not dead!" Blurts out Matsuda.

"W-w-what?" Stammers Mikami. "Why aren't you dying?" I look at Light. His face is frozen in horror.

"Looks like you've been outsmarted, _Kira,"_ I say, smirking. This is it.

"I'm not Kira! There's been a mistake! It's a trap!" Light yells.

"In that case, how come you said "I win"? Give up. You've practically confessed to being Kira already." I snap.

"Rester and Gevanni, get Mikami," Near says. The two men grab and handcuff Mikami.

"God! I tried! I did everything you asked!" He yells. Light ignores him. Mogi walks forwards to handcuff Light.

"Stop it!" He yells, and runs off to the corner.

"You lose, Light Yagami," Near says.

Light claims his innocence over and over again, and each time his wild claims are disproved by someone. Eventually, he gives up.

"Hahahahaha!" The room falls silent as he laughs. "That's right. I'm Kira. So what? Are you going to kill me or something?" A smile spreads across his face. He turns around, not facing us and does something with his watch. I see a small drawer pop out, with a piece of paper in it.

"He's got a note!" I yell, and hurl myself at him, knocking the pen he had just pulled out of his pocket out of his hand.

"Get off me!" He screams. "Or I'll kill you too!" I snatch the piece of paper out of his watch and grab the pen off the floor. Then I begin to write.

_Li_

He punches me in the face before I get any further, causing me to drop the pen in surprise. Everyone shouting, but I'm not sure what they're saying. I'm too focussed on killing Light Yagami.

"I should have killed you earlier!" He snarled. "Never mind. I'll just do it now instead." He digs his nails into my wrist until I drop the piece of paper, ignoring my attempts to punch him.

"Admit it, Kira. You've lost!" I yell, kicking him as hard as I can. He bends over and gasps in pain, but does not drop the paper or the pen. Instead of beginning a new word, he changes the L to an E and the I to an L.

_Elle _

I grab hold of the end of the pen, shaking it around so much it becomes impossible for him to write. At the same time, I pound my fist into his face over and over again. He swears, and elbows me in the stomach, winding me. We're right next to the doors now. If Light manages to write my name down, he can easily just run out of the doors and escape. Someone smacks me in the face and I look round to see that Matsuda has joined the fight.

"You idiot Matsuda! That was me!" I yell.

"Sorry!" He grabs Light around the waist and tries to pull him away from me.

"No! He's still got the death note!" I cling onto Light, smacking his hand into the wall.

"I don't care if I have to break all of your fingers, you are letting go of that thing," I snarl. I grab his arm as he struggles to write more letters.

_Elle Lawli_

"Get the hell off me," he growls. I grab the end of the pen and break it in half. Unfortunately, all that seems to do is get ink everywhere. Luckily the spilt ink obscures the part of my name that Light had managed to write, so he has to start again.

"Matsuda! No!" I hear someone say, and look round. Matsuda is aiming his gun at us.

"Matsuda you idiot, if you do that you'll hit me too!" I yell. Light manages to escape from my grasp while Matsuda was distracting me, and leaps at him, yanking the gun out of his hand.

"Get off me Matsuda!" He yells, smacking Matsuda with the gun.

"I don't care if I lose, I'm dragging all of you down with me!" He yells, and points the gun at me. I run at him, knowing that I'm probably not going to make it in time. But before he shoots, the door flies open and someone in a black hoodie slams into Light, knocking the gun out of his hand.

The hood falls down, revealing long ginger hair.

"Fuck you, Light Yagami! You killed L, and now you're trying to kill my daughter too!"

"Who the heck are you?" Light screams, before getting punched in the face and kicked in the groin. I stare. I never knew my mother could be so ferocious. She yanks the pen and paper out of Light's hand, and begins to write.

"No!" Light yells, and runs for the gun. I throw myself on him.

"No you don't."

"Fuck you! I am _not _going to die!" He screeches, struggling, and throws me off. I grab his leg, making him fall over. Unfortunately, he also manages to grab the gun. There's a loud bang, and a hole appears in the floor near me.

"Crap!" I yell, and grab his wrist, pointing the gun away from me. Someone runs towards us, and Light attempts to shoot them. Unfortunately for him, he misses.

"Get off!" He punches the man whose name I don't know hard in the stomach. The man bends over, winded, but still tries to put the handcuffs on Light. Light grabs the handcuffs and tries to yank them out of the person's hand, whilst still trying to point the gun in my direction. Realising this isn't working, he tries a new tactic and shoves the man into me. He isn't expecting it, so falls heavily into me, causing me to let go of Light's wrist and fall to the floor. I look up at Light, who is now pointing the gun at Evie. There's a loud bang.

Light cries out and drops the gun, blood trickling down from his shoulder. I grab the gun before looking round, totally confused. Then I see Matsuda. He's snatched someone else's gun and shot Light.

"I trusted you, Light!" He yells. Light snarls, then stops. His face creases up with pain, and he drops to his knees, clutching his chest.

"D-dammit," he gasps, and collapses completely. I stare at him for a second, then look at Evie.

"Revenge... finally." She drops the scrap of paper. _Light Yagami._

Her gaze drifts off to the corner.

"Oh. You must be the shinigami." I follow her gaze to see a humanoid creature standing in the corner. I hadn't noticed him before.

"That's me. Ryuk. Now that was what I call entertainment! I actually had no idea what was going to happen there." He says, and laughs.

"You're a shinigami?" I must admit, even after what's just happened I'm fascinated. "Before all this, I never even considered such things could exist."

"Neither did Light here." Said Ryuk. "He thought the death note was a hoax until he tried it out."

"Why did you drop it in the first place?" I ask. "All this could have been prevented."

"Why? Because I was bored. And now it looks like I'm going to have to go back to being bored. It's a shame really, but I was planning to kill Light anyway if you hadn't. It was either that or spend a lifetime in prison with him until he died. Although, if someone else takes the death note, I could stay a little longer..." he offers it to me.

"No thank you. I think we've all had enough of the death note. Anyway, what would I do with it?"

"Kill people and try to become God? That worked for Light," Ryuk suggests.

"But I'm not a psychopathic killer. Sorry Ryuk, it looks like you're going to have to be bored."

"Anyone else want it? No?" Ryuk sighs. "Come on, how about you?" He offers it to Evie. "You've used it once. Surely there must be someone else you want to kill?" Evie shakes her head. Ryuk sighs. "You're all so boring. Bye then." He leaves.

Near walks over to me.

"If what Matt told me was true, you're the daughter of the original L?" I nod.

"And you're the current L?"

"Yes. Now here's a dilemma. Either of us could be L. I could be L because I have had all the training, or you could be L because you're his daughter and are doubtless capable of carrying the role. So may I suggest we share the role?"

"That seems the fairest solution," I say. "That way you wouldn't have done all this for nothing, and neither will I." Near twists a strand of hair around his finger.

"It's going to be strange. I was perfectly happy to share the role with Mello, however he didn't seem quite as keen."

"Oh yes, Mello told me to tell you he hates you..." Near frowns. I laugh.

"Sorry, but that's what he said."

"I can imagine. Alright. I will get in contact when you are needed for our first case together."

"Alright. I shall see you then." I walk back to Evie.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Yeah. That was probably the wrong thing to do, killing Light."

"That's alright. It's impossible to do the right thing all the time. Anyway, even if you hadn't done it I would have and if I hadn't done it Ryuk would have. I understand completely, and it was always going to happen."

"Yes, I suppose you do." She stands up. "I suppose we should get going then."

"Yes. Let's go. By the way, I'm L now. I will be sharing the role with Near."

"If that's what you want. Just don't get yourself killed." I smile.

"I won't. Come on, let's go home."

Three weeks later

_Ring ring._

I pick the phone up. "Hello?"

"Eryuki, it's Near. I need to meet you, at the usual place. There have been several unexplained killings and we..."

"Alright then. I'll be there right away." I put the phone down. "Looks like my first case as L has started. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," says Evie. "I'm sure you don't need it. I'm sure you'll do a great job." I put my hat on, and head to the door.

"By the way, you never explained this to me." I turn around.

"What?"

"Where did you get that hat from and why do you wear it so much?"

"I like it." I leave, smiling. My chance has come. I'm going to surpass L, and try to make this world a better place. Near and I can do it.

I know we can.

...

_WOOOW I'VE FINISHED! I've finished my first-ever fanfiction! (I mean I've finished fanfictions before, but this fanfiction was my first-ever one) *Does a happy dance* Thank you for sticking with me till the end, and for all your reviews and everything! _

_And by the way, well done to the 37% of people who voted that it was Evie in the poll. You win a cyber cookie if you thought it was Evie._

_Also, although I am not planning on writing any sequels about Elle, my little sister (who is known as Luulasnightmares to you lot) asked me very nicely if she could use Elle in one of her future fanfictions, and I said she could. I'm not sure if she's still going to write it, but if she does and you happen to see it, I've said she could use Elle so that's all fine with me :D_

_Anyway, to everyone, love, peace and lollipops, and bye! _


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